The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to assess the potential effects of preconceptional short-term exposure to particulate air pollution in a real-world situation on pregnancy outcome in infertile women evaluating the possible role of IVF/embryo transfer treatment on this outcome using women who had conceived naturally for the first time during the same time frame as a matched control group. The study provides evidence for an association between brief exposure to high levels of ambient particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter <or=10 microm) during the preconceptional period and early pregnancy loss, regardless of the method of conception, and showed a 2.6-fold increase in risk of miscarriage, suggesting a threshold instead of a monotonic effect of this exposure on reproductive outcome.
Copyright 2010 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.