Ozone link to pregnancy problems

Thursday February 7th, 2013

Air pollution may be responsible for triggering a dangerous condition in pregnancy, researchers warn today.

A study in Stockholm, Sweden, has concluded that 5% of cases of pre-eclampsia may be linked to air pollution.

The research links exposure to high levels of ozone in urban areas in the early weeks of pregnancy to the risk of pre-eclampsia and to the risk of premature birth.

Researchers studied some 121,000 births in the Stockholm region.

The research, published in BMJ Open, found no link between pregnancy complications and vehicle exhaust, measured as the gas nitrogen oxide.

Researcher David Olsson, of Umea University, Umea, Sweden, reports a possible link with asthma. Women with asthma were 10% more likely than others to develop pre-eclampsia.

He writes: "Asthma is an inflammatory condition and ozone may therefore have worsened respiratory symptoms and systemic inflammation, so accounting for the larger increase in the risk of premature birth among the mums with asthma."

Air pollution exposure in early pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a register-based cohort study BMJ Open 7 February 2013 doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001955 [abstract]

Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Childbirth and Pregnancy | Europe | Respiratory | Women's Health & Gynaecology

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