Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy, Depression/Anxiety Symptoms, and Conduct/Aggressive Problems in Children in Eight European Cohort Studies

摘要

Background: Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may increase several behavior problems, including depression/anxiety or conduct/aggressive problems in children, but findings have been inconsistent. We aimed to study this association in a collaborative study of eight European predominantly urban population-based birth/child cohorts, including 13,376 mother-child pairs from thirteen geographic areas. Methods: Air pollution concentrations (nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter) during pregnancy were estimated at the pregnancy addresses by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011. Parents assessed depression/anxiety symptoms and conduct/aggressive problems at 8-12 years of age. We combined all adjusted area-specific effect estimates using random-effects meta-analysis and multiple imputation and applied inverse probability weighting methods to correct for loss to follow-up. Results: We classified a total of 1,625 children as having depression/anxiety symptoms within the borderline/clinical range and 855 within the clinical range, whereas 1,943 children were classified as having conduct/aggressive problems within the borderline/clinical range, and 861 within the clinical range. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy was not associated with a higher odds of depression/anxiety symptoms within the borderline/clinical range (e.g., adjusted OR 0.98, 95%CI 0.95;1.02 per 10ug/m3 increase in NO2) or with a higher odds of conduct/aggressive problems within the borderline/clinical range (e.g., adjusted OR 1.01, 95%CI 0.99;1.02 per 10μg/m3 increase in NO2). We observed similar associations for the symptoms/problems within the clinical range. Low to moderate heterogeneity was found between areas. Conclusions: There was no evidence for an increase in risk of depression/anxiety symptoms or of conduct/aggressive problems with increasing prenatal air pollution levels in children aged 8-12 years.