Indoor air pollution and the risk of orofacial clefts in a rural population in Shanxi province, China

Background

Shanxi Province is a region in China with a high incidence of orofacial clefts (OFCs). Our objective is to investigate the effect of maternal exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) from coal combustion and tobacco smoke on the risk of an infant being born with orofacial clefts.

Methods

Data were derived from an ongoing population-based case–control study of major external structural birth defects in Shanxi Province. Subjects included 213 cases with OFCs and 1319 healthy babies born between November 2002 and December 2014 in four rural counties. Exposure information was collected by face-to-face interview with mothers within 1 week of delivery or pregnancy termination. The authors derived an exposure index by integrating a series of IAP-related characteristics concerning dwelling and lifestyle.

Results

Increased odds of OFC were associated with IAP exposure from heating (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2–4.5) and from smoking (aOR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3, 2.5), but not with exposure from cooking (aOR = 0.9; 95% CI, 0.6–1.4). Compared with women without IAP exposure, the aORs of OFC for children of women with exposure indices of 1, 2, 3 and ≥ 4 were 1.1 (95% CI, 0.6–1.8), 1.4 (95% CI, 0.8–2.4), 1.8 (95% CI, 1.0–3.2), and 3.4 (95% CI, 1.6–7.4), respectively, demonstrating a clear dose–response trend (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Periconceptional exposure to IAP from coal combustion and tobacco smoking may increase the risk of OFCs in offsprings of women in Shanxi Province. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:708–715, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.