The association between maternal exposure to outdoor air pollutants, inflammatory response, and birth weight in healthy women

Increased maternal inflammatory response has been noted in women with pregnancies complicated by preterm birth and small-for-gestational age infants. However, the association between gestational exposure to air pollutants, maternal inflammatory response, and fetal growth remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy and the concentration of inflammatory indicators in maternal and fetal circulations, as well as fetal growth. We recruited 108 healthy pregnant women living in northern (n = 55) and southern (n = 53) areas of Taiwan and prospectively collected information of exposure to outdoor air pollutants throughout gestation. Maternal blood from each trimester and umbilical cord blood after delivery were collected and analyzed for inflammatory indicators including high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Our results showed that exposure to particulate matter less than or equal to 10 μm (PM₁₀) and ozone (O₃) during the first trimester had a direct effect on reduction of birth weight, but the direct effect of PM₁₀ mediated by hs-CRP and the direct effect of O₃ mediated by TNF-α on fetal birth weight were not significant. Exposure to PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 during the second and third trimesters also directly affected birth weight. Furthermore, exposure to sulfur dioxide (SO₂) caused changes in the concentrations of TNF-α in maternal blood during the second trimester, which subsequently resulted in reduced fetal weight. Together, these results indicate that exposure to air pollutants may cause both direct and indirect effects on the reduction of fetal weight.