Air pollution exposure associates with increased risk of neonatal jaundice

Clinical experience suggests increased incidences of neonatal jaundice when air quality worsens, yet no studies have quantified this relationship. Here we reports investigations in 25,782 newborns showing an increase in newborn's bilirubin levels, the indicator of neonatal jaundice risk, by 0.076 (95% CI: 0.027-0.125), 0.029 (0.014-0.044) and 0.009 (95% CI: 0.002-0.016) mg/dL per μg/m³ for PM_2.5 exposure in the concentration ranges of 10-35, 35-75 and 75-200 μg/m³, respectively. The response is 0.094 (0.077-0.111) and 0.161 (0.07-0.252) mg/dL per μg/m³ for SO₂ exposure at 10-15 and above 15 μg/m³, respectively, and 0.351 (0.314-0.388) mg/dL per mg/m³ for CO exposure. Bilirubin levels increase linearly with exposure time between 0 and 48 h. Positive relationship between maternal exposure and newborn bilirubin level is also quantitated. The jaundice-pollution relationship is not affected by top-of-atmosphere incident solar irradiance and atmospheric visibility. Improving air quality may therefore be key to lowering the neonatal jaundice risk.