Association between air pollutants and birth defects in Xiamen, China

Zhimeng Huang; Yue Qiu; Jiawen Qi; Xiaohui Ma; Qiliang Cheng; Jinzhun Wu

doi:10.3389/fped.2023.1132885

Association between air pollutants and birth defects in Xiamen, China

Front Pediatr. 2023 May 25:11:1132885. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1132885. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zhimeng Huang¹, Yue Qiu², Jiawen Qi¹, Xiaohui Ma¹, Qiliang Cheng¹, Jinzhun Wu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
² Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China.

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between common air pollution and common birth defects, and to provide reference for the prevention of birth defects.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study in Xiamen, a city in southeastern China from 2019 to 2020. Logistics regression was used to analyze the relationship between sulfur dioxide(SO₂), fine particulate matter 2.5(PM_2.5), nitrogen dioxide(NO₂), ozone(O₃), carbon monoxide(CO) and the occurrence of common birth defects such as congenital heart disease, facial cleft, and finger deformity.

Results: SO₂ significantly increased the risk of birth defects such as congenital heart disease, cleft lip and/or cleft palate, and ear deformity in the first and second months of pregnancy.

Conclusion: Exposure to common air pollutants increases the risk of birth defects, and SO₂ significantly affects the occurrence of birth defects in the first two months of pregnancy.

Keywords: China; air pollution; birth defects; congenital heart disease; etiology.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the development and construction of regional maternal and child intelligent information collaborative platform based on privacy computing (project number: 3502Z20221021).