Modification effect of prenatal polyunsaturated fatty acids on the associations between air particulate matter...

While previous research has documented the associations between ambient particulate matter (PM) and infant growth, few considered PM₁. Moreover, no evidence is available for the modifying effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on this association. We aimed to examine the associations of prenatal exposure to PM with infant growth and to assess whether maternal PUFAs levels modify these effects. This birth cohort study analyzed 573 mother-child pairs from Guangzhou, China, recruited during 2017 and 2018. Maternal erythrocyte PUFAs were measured during pregnancy through gas chromatography. Infant weight and length were measured repeatedly at 1, 3, 6, 8, and 12 months to calculate weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), weight-for-length Z-score (WLZ), and body mass index-for-age Z-score (BAZ). Prenatal residential PM exposure was estimated using an established spatiotemporal model. Adjusted generalized estimating equation models indicated per IQR increase of PM₁, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀ in pregnancy was positively linked to infant WAZ, WLZ, and BAZ (βs ranging from 0.12 to 0.36, p < 0.10), and the association pronounced in 2nd trimester. Furthermore, the harmful effects of exposure to PM during pregnancy and 2nd trimester on BAZ and WLZ were lower in the high n-3 PUFAs group (p_{forinteraction} <0.10). This study suggested different aerodynamic diameters of PM exposure in pregnancy, particularly in the 2nd trimester, were associated with increased infant growth, and these associations were attenuated by n-3 PUFAs.