Prenatal pollution exposure linked to lasting health effects in newborns
Pregnant women exposed to higher levels of air pollution have babies who grow unusually fast, putting on fat that puts them at risk of weight problems later in life, new 欧美口爆视频 Boulder research suggests.
Women chronically exposed to pollution are known to deliver smaller babies. But in the first year, evidence suggests, they race to catch up, with that accelerated weight gain boosting risk of diabetes, heart disease and childhood obesity.
The researchers followed 123 Hispanic mother-infant pairs, periodically measuring the babies鈥 weight, height and fat distribution. They also tracked mothers鈥 prenatal exposure to the pollutants PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.
Babies exposed to more air pollution prenatally had greater changes in weight and body fatness in the first six months of life.
Researchers believe the pollutants inflame mothers鈥 organs, influencing fetal development and affecting gene expression.
鈥淗igher rates of obesity among certain groups are not simply a byproduct of personal choices like exercise and calories,鈥 author Tanya Alderete said. 鈥淭his study suggests it can also relate to how much of an environmental burden one carries.鈥
Principal investigator
Tanya Alderete
Funding
Gerber Foundation; Health Effects Institute; National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Collaboration + support
Department of Pediatrics, The Saban Research Institute, Children鈥檚 Hospital of Los Angeles, University of Southern California
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Air pollution exposure during pregnancy may boost babies鈥 obesity risk