Prenatal particulate air pollution exposure predicts arterial stiffness in childhood

Early-life environment is crucial for foetal programming and later-life development. Exposure to particulate air pollution during gestation may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) later in life. We investigated the association between exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less) during gestation and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in children.

In the prospective ENVIRONAGE (ENVIRonmental influence ON early AGEing) birth cohort (Belgium), mother-child pairs were recruited at birth, and 244 children between 9 and 11 years were followed up. Arterial stiffness was assessed using carotid-femoral PWV via the Vicorder® (Skidmore Medical, Bristol, UK). A high-resolution spatiotemporal model was used to model daily prenatal and postnatal PM2.5 exposure levels. Associations between prenatal PM2.5 exposures and PWV were tested using linear regression models followed by fitting weekly prenatal exposures to distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM). Among the 244 children [132 girls (54.1%); mean (S) age, 10.2 (0.8) years], a 5 μg/m3 increment in prenatal PM2.5 exposure during trimester two was significantly associated with a 0.09 m/sec higher PWV (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.17; P = 0.03). Accounting for entire childhood PM2.5 exposure, PM2.5 exposure during trimester two remained a predictor of PWV (0.08 m/sec, 95% CI: -0.0006 to 0.16; P = 0.05).

PWV is an independent predictor of future CVD and all-cause mortality in the general population. Therefore, associations of air pollution exposure during gestation with childhood PWV highlight the potential long-term consequences on the child's cardiovascular system from early life onwards.