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Published on: August 25, 2014
Associations between household incense burning and delayed motor development among preterm infants modified by
Chih-Fu Wei1,2, Ching-Chun Lin1, Meng-Shan Tsai1
1Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan.
Insights
Household incense burning is linked to developmental delays in preterm infants, particularly affecting gross and fine motor skills. Higher maternal education may mitigate these risks.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Household incense burning is a widespread practice in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Previous studies linked incense exposure to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in term infants.
- The impact on preterm infants remained under-examined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between household incense burning exposure and neurodevelopmental milestone achievement in preterm infants.
- To explore potential differences in developmental outcomes based on the degree of prematurity.
- To examine the modifying role of maternal education on these associations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 1190 mother-infant pairs in the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study.
- Utilized multivariable Cox proportional hazard models with propensity score weighting.
- Included stratified, sensitivity, and decomposition analyses for robust assessment.
Main Results:
- Household incense burning exposure was significantly associated with delayed gross motor milestone achievement in all preterm infants.
- Specific motor domain delays varied: late preterm infants showed gross motor delays, while other preterm infants exhibited fine motor delays.
- The association between incense burning and gross motor delays was attenuated by the interaction of higher maternal education and exposure status.
Conclusions:
- Household incense burning exposure is linked to developmental delays in preterm infants, with motor domain impacts varying by prematurity.
- Maternal educational status, in interaction with exposure, can modify these adverse associations.
- Findings highlight the need to consider environmental exposures in preterm infant development.
Background:
Household incense burning is a common ritual behavior in the Asia-Pacific region but has been associated with inferior developmental outcomes in term infants. We aimed to examine these associations among preterm infants.
Methods:
Information from 1190 mother-infant pairs during 6- and 18-month follow-up to the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study was examined for associations between household incense burning exposure and infant neurodevelopmental milestone achievement using multivariable Cox proportional hazard model with propensity score weighting, along with stratified, sensitivity, and decomposition analysis.
Results:
Household incense burning exposure was associated with delayed gross motor milestone achievement among all preterm infants according to the Cox model and after propensity score weighting. Meanwhile, associations for delayed development were found in gross motor domain milestones among late preterm infants, while fine motor domain delay was found among other preterm infants. Furthermore, the associations between household incense burning status and gross motor milestone delays were attenuated by the interaction between higher education level and household incense burning exposure status.
Conclusions:
Household incense burning exposure was associated with delays, and the motor domains affected differed according to degree of prematurity. These associations were modified by the attenuation upon higher maternal educational status and exposure status interaction.
