Ming-Lun Zou1, Chuen-Bin Jiang2, Yi-Hua Chen3, Chih-Da Wu4, Shih-Chun Candice Lung5, Ling-Chu Chien3, Kraiwuth Kallawicha6, Yu-Ting Yang7, Yu-Chun Lo8, Hsing Jasmine Chao9. 1. School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 2. Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, MacKay Children's Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan. 3. School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Neuroscience Research Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 4. Department of Geomatics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan. 5. Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. 6. College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. 7. School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Hsinchu County Environmental Protection Bureau, Hsinchu, Taiwan. 8. Neuroscience Research Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 9. School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Neuroscience Research Center, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: hchao@tmu.edu.tw.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Few studies have investigated the associations of child development with air pollution, land-use type, and maternal mental health simultaneously. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of exposure to air pollutants during several critical periods of life, with adjustment for land-use type and maternal mental status, on child development at 6, 12, and 24 months of age in the Greater Taipei area. METHODS: Participants were selected from an ongoing Taiwanese birth cohort study. We analyzed the data of the participants who had been recruited from January 2011 to April 2014. Self-administered standardized questionnaires were used to collect information on sociodemographic factors, infant development and health, maternal mental status, etc. Air pollution levels in pre- and postnatal periods were estimated using a spatial interpolation technique (ordinary kriging) at children's residential addresses. Land-use types around participants' homes were evaluated using buffer analysis. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the relationships between child development delay and environmental factors. RESULTS: In total, 228, 361, and 441 families completed child development forms at 6, 12, and 24 months of age, respectively. Our results indicated that prenatal exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm and O3 and postnatal exposure to NO2 were negatively associated with child development. Traffic-related land-use types, gas stations, and power generation areas around participants' homes were also adversely correlated with child development. Moreover, poor maternal mental health was associated with child development delay. CONCLUSION: Prenatal exposure and postnatal exposure to air pollution were associated with development delay in children under 2 years of age, specifically those under 1 year of age, even after adjustment for land-use type and maternal mental status. Living environment is critical for the development of children under 2 years of age.
INTRODUCTION: Few studies have investigated the associations of child development with air pollution, land-use type, and maternal mental health simultaneously. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of exposure to air pollutants during several critical periods of life, with adjustment for land-use type and maternal mental status, on child development at 6, 12, and 24 months of age in the Greater Taipei area. METHODS:Participants were selected from an ongoing Taiwanese birth cohort study. We analyzed the data of the participants who had been recruited from January 2011 to April 2014. Self-administered standardized questionnaires were used to collect information on sociodemographic factors, infant development and health, maternal mental status, etc. Air pollution levels in pre- and postnatal periods were estimated using a spatial interpolation technique (ordinary kriging) at children's residential addresses. Land-use types around participants' homes were evaluated using buffer analysis. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the relationships between child development delay and environmental factors. RESULTS: In total, 228, 361, and 441 families completed child development forms at 6, 12, and 24 months of age, respectively. Our results indicated that prenatal exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm and O3 and postnatal exposure to NO2 were negatively associated with child development. Traffic-related land-use types, gas stations, and power generation areas around participants' homes were also adversely correlated with child development. Moreover, poor maternal mental health was associated with child development delay. CONCLUSION: Prenatal exposure and postnatal exposure to air pollution were associated with development delay in children under 2 years of age, specifically those under 1 year of age, even after adjustment for land-use type and maternal mental status. Living environment is critical for the development of children under 2 years of age.