Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23384584›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2013

Maternal exposure to particulate air pollution and term birth weight: a multi-country evaluation of effect and heterogeneity.

Payam Dadvand, Jennifer Parker, Michelle L Bell, Matteo Bonzini, Michael Brauer, Lyndsey A Darrow, Ulrike Gehring, Svetlana V Glinianaia, Nelson Gouveia, Eun-hee Ha and 19 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 189 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
189citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

189 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Airborne contaminant exposure and bone development: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026
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  6. Adverse Birth Outcomes Related to NOInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
    Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
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  9. Air pollution and female fertility: a systematic review of literature.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2018
    Pooled it
  10. Pooled it
  11. Maternal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and pregnancy outcomes: a meta-analysis.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2015
    Pooled it
  12. Pooled it
  13. PMAir quality, atmosphere, & health · 2025
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  20. PMEnvironmental health : a global access science source · 2025
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129 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

29 authors.

Payam DadvandCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain. pdadvand@creal.cat
Jennifer Parker
Michelle L Bell
Matteo Bonzini
Michael Brauer
Lyndsey A Darrow
Ulrike Gehring
Svetlana V Glinianaia
Nelson Gouveia
Eun-hee Ha
Jong Han Leem
Edith H van den Hooven
Bin Jalaludin
Bill M Jesdale
Johanna Lepeule
Rachel Morello-Frosch
Geoffrey G Morgan
Angela Cecilia Pesatori
Frank H Pierik
Tanja Pless-Mulloli
David Q Rich
Sheela Sathyanarayana
Juhee Seo
Rémy Slama
Matthew Strickland
Lillian Tamburic
Daniel Wartenberg
Mark J Nieuwenhuijsen
Tracey J Woodruff

Funding

Effect of Air Pollution and Traffic on Birth OutcomesR01ES016317 · NIEHS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI BELANGER, KATHLEEN, BELL, MICHELLE L · 2008 to 2012
$2.9M
Effects of Fine Particle Composition on Birth OutcomesR01ES019587 · NIEHS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI BELL, MICHELLE L · 2011 to 2015
$2.6M
NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES016317NIEHS NIH HHS R01ES016317NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES019587NIEHS NIH HHS R01ES019587Wellcome Trust 072465/Z/03/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA growing body of evidence has associated maternal exposure to air pollution with adverse effects on fetal growth; however, the existing literature is inconsistent.

objectivesWe aimed to quantify the association between maternal exposure to particulate air pollution and term birth weight and low birth weight (LBW) across 14 centers from 9 countries, and to explore the influence of site characteristics and exposure assessment methods on between-center heterogeneity in this association.

methodsUsing a common analytical protocol, International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO) centers generated effect estimates for term LBW and continuous birth weight associated with PM(10) and PM(2.5) (particulate matter ≤ 10 and 2.5 µm). We used meta-analysis to combine the estimates of effect across centers (~ 3 million births) and used meta-regression to evaluate the influence of center characteristics and exposure assessment methods on between-center heterogeneity in reported effect estimates.

resultsIn random-effects meta-analyses, term LBW was positively associated with a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10 [odds ratio (OR) = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05] and PM(2.5) (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.18) exposure during the entire pregnancy, adjusted for maternal socioeconomic status. A 10-μg/m3 increase in PM(10) exposure was also negatively associated with term birth weight as a continuous outcome in the fully adjusted random-effects meta-analyses (-8.9 g; 95% CI: -13.2, -4.6 g). Meta-regressions revealed that centers with higher median PM(2.5) levels and PM(2.5):PM(10) ratios, and centers that used a temporal exposure assessment (compared with spatiotemporal), tended to report stronger associations.

conclusionMaternal exposure to particulate pollution was associated with LBW at term across study populations. We detected three site characteristics and aspects of exposure assessment methodology that appeared to contribute to the variation in associations reported by centers.

Indexed as

Birth WeightMaternal ExposureParticle SizeAir PollutantsFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornAir Pollutants

Identifiers

PMID23384584
PMCPMC3621183

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.