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Prenatal air pollution exposure linked to infant weight gain in girls
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Increased cord blood levels of leptin and high-molecular-weight adiponectin are associated with greater prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution, which may influence infant weight gain in girls, study data show.
Carrie V. Breton, ScD, associate professor in the department of preventive medicine, division of environmental health at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues evaluated data from the Maternal and Child Health Study birth cohort on 136 women to assess the associations between adipokines in cord blood with traffic-related air pollution exposure and infant weight change from birth to 6 months.
Adipokines in cord blood were positively associated with traffic-related air pollution exposures during pregnancy. Leptin levels were 33% higher (P = .01), high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin levels were 9% higher (P = .07) and ratio of leptin to HMW adiponectin was 23% higher with each one standard deviation (SD) increase in non-freeway nitrogen oxides. Mothers who lived near major roadways had higher cord blood leptin levels compared with those who did not live near major roadways. Adipokines were not significantly associated with ambient air pollution.
From birth to 6 months, increased cord blood adipokines were associated with increased weight and weight-for-age z score. Infant weight from 1 to 6 months increased by 0.21 kg with each 1-SD increase in leptin and by 0.18 kg with each 1-SD increase in the ratio of leptin to HMW adiponectin. Increases in infant weight from birth to 6 months were associated with higher cord blood leptin levels but differed by sex; female infants had greater weight increases (0.62 kg per 1-SD increase) compared with boys (0.11 kg). Infant birth weight was not associated with leptin and HMW adiponectin levels in cord blood.
“Future studies should validate and expand upon these results by investigating whether increased maternal [traffic-related air pollution] exposure leads to increased cord blood adipokines, thereby contributing to alterations in infant weight, body composition and fat distribution,” the researchers wrote. “Results from this study support the growing body of literature that has found important associations between environmental exposures and maternal health, which may have significant implications for the risk of childhood obesity in vulnerable populations.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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