Study Unveils Molecular Links between Air Pollution and Negative Birth Outcomes

A new study by Emory University researchers, published in Environmental Science & Technology, found that exposure to the tiny particles in air pollution during pregnancy can disrupt maternal metabolism, altering key biological pathways. These changes were associated with increased risk of various negative birth outcomes, including premature birth.

The study analyzed blood samples provided by 330 pregnant women from the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Key Findings of the study are:

• The study uncovered the specific pathways and molecules involved in energy and amino acid metabolism that may explain how exposure to PM2.5 contributes to preterm and early term births.
• The researchers identified two substances -- cortexolone and lysoPE(20:3) -- as factors in the relationship between short-term air pollution exposure and elevated risk of early births, offering a potential mechanism through which air pollution triggers premature labor.
• The study highlighted disruptions in protein digestion and absorption -- which are vital to fetal development and immune function -- as potential links between air pollution and early births, also offering new potential targets for prevention efforts.
• Of the 330 women who participated in the Emory study, 66 (20%) delivered preterm babies and 54 (16.4%) delivered early term babies, both of which are significantly higher than the prevalence in the general U.S. population.