Air pollutants and adverse pregnancy outcomes: A multi-method integration of Mendelian randomization, meta-analysis,...

Exposure to air pollutants is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, but establishing a causal relationship remains challenging.

We integrated Mendelian randomization (MR) and animal experiments to investigate causality. MR analyses leveraged data from FinnGen consortium and UK Biobank data to assess effects of air pollutants (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM_2.5], particulate matter 2.5-10 μm in diameter [PM_2.5-10], and nitrogen oxide [NO_x]) on pregnancy complications (preeclampsia, intrauterine fetal growth restriction, gestational hypertension, placental abruption, placenta previa, spontaneous abortion, and preterm birth). Sensitivity analyses employed multiple methods, and two-step MR mediation analyses were performed. In vivo validation utilized C57BL/6 mice exposed to PM_2.5.

In the FinnGen cohort (423,796 exposed individuals; outcome cases ranging from 691 to 67,323, PM_2.5 exposure was significantly associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia (odds ratio [OR]: 1.421; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.066-1.894), corroborated by meta-analysis (OR: 1.281; 95 % CI: 1.045-1.568). No significant associations were found for other outcomes. Sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness. Among 2521 potential mediators, CD27 was identified as significant. PM_2.5-exposed mice exhibited preeclampsia-like phenotypes (hypertension, proteinuria) with placental vascularization deficits.

Combing MR, meta-analysis, and animal models, this study provides robust causal evidence linking PM_2.5 exposure to preeclampsia, mitigating biases inherent in single-database MR. Reducing PM_2.5 exposure reduction may be a public health priority for preeclampsia prevention.