Numerous studies have shown that air pollution seems to be able to cause many diseases. Considering the possible mechanism of action and the same growth trend, the present study is designed to examine whether and how air pollutants, especially ozone (O3) exposure, are associated with the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). By a retrospective cohort, we analyzed the records of 45439 pregnant women from 2013 to 2018 and matched them to maternal exposure to O3. We found that the increased odds of GDM is associated with increased O3 concentrations from the 1st month before pregnancy to the 3rd month during pregnancy. Specially, the odds ratios (ORs) of these associations were largest in the 1st month before pregnancy, suggesting that the effect of O3 pollution on GDM occurred in pre-pregnancy period. Moreover, the exposure-response plot in the 1st month before pregnancy showed that the odds of GDM increased with the increasing concentration of O3. Our findings provide the evidence that O3 exposure in both pre-pregnancy and pregnancy period elevates the odds of GDM, suggesting that more intensive air pollution controls are needed to improve the health of pregnant women and their offspring.
Keywords: Exposure; Exposure-response relationship; Gestational diabetes mellitus; Ozone; Pregnancy.
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