Pregnancy exposure to air pollution and early childhood respiratory health in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

OBJECTIVES It is unclear whether maternal air pollution exposure during pregnancy induces changes in the developing respiratory system of a child and whether it has consequences for respiratory health in early childhood. We investigated associations between exposure to moderate levels of air pollution during pregnancy and early childhood lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and wheezing. METHODS This study used a subgroup of 17 533 participants in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Air pollution levels at residential addresses were estimated using land use regression models, and back-extrapolated to the period of each pregnancy. Information on LRTI and wheezing and lifestyle factors was collected from questionnaires completed by mothers during pregnancy and when the child was 6 and 18 months of age. RESULTS Moderate mean levels of NO2 (13.6 µg/m3, range 0.01-60.4) exposure at residential address during pregnancy were not statistically associated with LRTI and wheezing. No association was found per 10 µg/m3 change in NO2 exposure and LRTI before the age of 6 months (adjusted risk ratio (RR) 0.99; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.17), or between 6 and 18 months of age (adjusted RR 1.05; 95% CI 0.94 to 1.16). Similarly, we found no association per 10 µg/m3 change in NO2 exposure and wheezing between 6 and 18 months of age (adjusted RR 1.02; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.07). CONCLUSIONS There were no statistically significant associations for moderate levels of pregnancy NO2 exposure and respiratory health outcomes during early childhood in overall analyses.