Ambient air pollution and childhood obesity from infancy to late childhood: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 10 European birth cohorts

IF 10.3 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environment International Pub Date : 2025-05-11 DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2025.109527

Sarah Warkentin , Serena Fossati , Sandra Marquez , Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen , Sandra Andrusaityte , Demetris Avraam , Ferran Ballester , Tim Cadman , Maribel Casas , Montserrat de Castro , Leda Chatzi , Ahmed Elhakeem , Antonio d’Errico , Mònica Guxens , Regina Grazuleviciene , Jennifer R. Harris , Carmen Iñiguez Hernandez , Barbara Heude , Elena Isaevska , Vincent W.V. Jaddoe , Martine Vrijheid

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Abstract

Ambient air pollution may contribute to childhood obesity through various mechanisms. However, few longitudinal studies examined the relationship between pre- and postnatal exposure to air pollution and obesity outcomes in childhood. We aimed to investigate the association between pre- and postnatal exposure to air pollution and body mass index (BMI) and the risk of overweight/obesity throughout childhood in European cohorts. This study included mother–child pairs from 10 European birth cohorts (n = 37111 (prenatal), 33860 (postnatal)). Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) was estimated at the home addresses during pre- and postnatal periods (year prior outcome assessment). BMI z-scores (continuous) and overweight/obesity status (categorical: zBMI≥+2 (<5 years) or ≥+1 (≥5 years) standard deviations) were derived at 0–2, 2–5, 5–9, 9–12 years. Associations between air pollution exposure and zBMI were estimated separately for each pollutant and cohort using linear and logistic longitudinal mixed effects models, followed by a random-effects meta-analysis. The overweight/obesity prevalence ranged from 12.3-40.5 % between cohorts at 0–2 years, 16.7–35.3 % at 2–5 years, 12.5–40.7 % at 5–9 years, and 10.7–43.8 % at 9–12 years. Results showed no robust associations between NO₂ exposure and zBMI or overweight/obesity risk. Exposure to PM_2.5 during pregnancy was associated with 23 % (95%CI 1.05;1.37) higher overweight/obesity risk across childhood, and higher zBMI and overweight/obesity risk at 9–12 years. Heterogeneity between cohorts was considerable (I²:25–89 %), with some cohort-specific associations; e.g., pre- and postnatal exposure to PM_2.5 was associated with lower zBMI across age periods in UK cohorts (ALSPAC and BiB), while postnatal exposure to PM_2.5 and NO₂ was associated with higher zBMI in one Dutch cohort (Generation R). Overall, this large-scale meta-analysis suggests that prenatal PM_2.5 exposure may be associated with adverse childhood obesity outcomes, but provides no evidence to support an effect of postnatal air pollution exposure, although cohort-specific associations were observed.

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环境空气污染与婴儿期至儿童期晚期儿童肥胖：10个欧洲出生队列的个体参与者数据荟萃分析

环境空气污染可能通过多种机制导致儿童肥胖。然而，很少有纵向研究调查了产前和产后暴露于空气污染与儿童时期肥胖结局之间的关系。我们的目的是调查欧洲队列中产前和产后暴露于空气污染与体重指数（BMI）以及整个儿童期超重/肥胖风险之间的关系。这项研究包括来自10个欧洲出生队列的母子对（n = 37111（产前），33,860（产后））。估计产前和产后家庭住址暴露于二氧化氮（NO2）和空气动力学直径 <； 2.5 µm （PM2.5）的细颗粒物（前一年结果评估）。BMI z评分（连续）和超重/肥胖（分类：zBMI≥+2 （<；5年）或≥+1（≥5年）标准差）在0-2、2 - 5、5 - 9、9-12 年得到。采用线性和logistic纵向混合效应模型，对每种污染物和队列分别估计空气污染暴露与zBMI之间的关系，然后进行随机效应荟萃分析。超重/肥胖患病率在0-2 岁时为12.3-40.5 %，在2-5 岁时为16.7-35.3 %，在5-9 岁时为12.5-40.7 %，在9-12 岁时为10.7-43.8 %。结果显示，二氧化氮暴露与zBMI或超重/肥胖风险之间没有明显关联。怀孕期间暴露于PM2.5与儿童期超重/肥胖风险增加23% % （95CI% 1.05;1.37）以及9-12 岁时zBMI和超重/肥胖风险增加相关。队列之间的异质性相当大（I2:25-89 %），存在一些队列特异性关联；例如，在英国队列（ALSPAC和BiB）中，产前和产后暴露于PM2.5与各年龄段较低的zBMI相关，而在一个荷兰队列（R一代）中，产后暴露于PM2.5和二氧化氮与较高的zBMI相关。总体而言，这项大规模荟萃分析表明，产前PM2.5暴露可能与儿童肥胖的不良结局有关，但没有证据支持产后空气污染暴露的影响，尽管观察到特定队列的关联。

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来源期刊

Environment International 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

21.90

自引率

3.40%

发文量

734

审稿时长

2.8 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Health publishes manuscripts focusing on critical aspects of environmental and occupational medicine, including studies in toxicology and epidemiology, to illuminate the human health implications of exposure to environmental hazards. The journal adopts an open-access model and practices open peer review. It caters to scientists and practitioners across all environmental science domains, directly or indirectly impacting human health and well-being. With a commitment to enhancing the prevention of environmentally-related health risks, Environmental Health serves as a public health journal for the community and scientists engaged in matters of public health significance concerning the environment.