The possible association between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood cancer: a historical cohort study

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Air pollution exposure during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of various adverse health outcomes in offspring, such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and congenital malformations. Moreover, a few studies have found an association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and increased risk of childhood cancer. This historical cohort included 216,730 infants, with median follow-up time of 13.3 years. Air pollution data were obtained for Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), Particulate Matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM 10 ), Nitrogen Oxides (NO x ), and Ozone (O 3 ). Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and the Kriging procedure, exposure to these pollutants during the first trimester of pregnancy and for the entire pregnancy were assessed for each woman according to her place of residence. The infants’ cohort database was linked with the Israel National Cancer Registry using the infants’ personal identification number. A multivariable Poisson model was used to assess the risk of childhood cancer. A total of 453 cases of childhood cancer were identified, with an incidence rate of 1.57 per 10,000 person-years. No significant association was found between exposure during the entire pregnancy to SO 2 , PM 10 , NO X , or O 3 and childhood cancer (Relative Risk [RR] = 1.15, 95%CI; 0.87–1.50; RR = 0.98, 95%CI; 0.45–2.10; RR = 1.21, 95%CI; 0.26–5.62; RR = 0.85, 95%CI; 0.61–1.19, respectively). The same results were found for first-trimester exposures. Similar results were found when considering cancer incidence among children up to 2 and 5 years of age. Regarding leukemia, no significant association was observed; however, larger sample size is needed to provide adequate power to detect differences in specific types of cancer, even if they exist. No significant association was found between exposure during pregnancy and overall childhood cancer although some pollutants showed a potential of increase, further studies with a larger cohort would be needed to confirm the findings due to the low rate of childhood cancer.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.