Evaluating narrow windows of maternal exposure to ozone and preterm birth in a large urban area in southeast texas

ABSTRACT The association between O3 exposure and preterm birth (PTB) remains unclear. We evaluated associations for three categories of PTB and O3 in Harris County, Texas, during narrow

periods of gestation. We computed two sets of exposure metrics during every 4 weeks of pregnancy for 152,214 mothers who delivered singleton, live-born infants in 2005–2007, accounting first

for temporal variability and then for temporal and spatial sources of variability in ambient O3 levels. Associations were assessed using multiple logistic regression. We also examined the

potential for a _fixed cohort bias_. In the bias-corrected cohort where associations were somewhat stronger, elevated odds ratios (ORs) per 10 parts per billion increase in O3 exposure

(county-level metric) were detected for the fifth (OR=1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04–1.12), sixth (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.01–1.09), and seventh (OR=1.07, 95% CI=1.03–1.10) 4-week

periods of pregnancy for late PTB (33–36 completed weeks gestation), the fifth (OR=1.13, 95% CI=1.02–1.25) and seventh (OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.04–1.27) 4-week periods of pregnancy for moderate

PTB (29–32 completed weeks gestation), and the fifth (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.08–1.36) 4-week period of pregnancy for severe PTB (20–28 completed weeks gestation). Conversely, decreased odds were

found in the first 4-week period of pregnancy for severe PTB (OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.74–0.94). Associations were slightly attenuated using the spatially interpolated (kriged) metrics, and for

women who did not work outside of the home. Our analyses confirm reports in other parts of the United States and elsewhere with findings that suggest that maternal exposure to ambient levels

of O3 is associated with PTB. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your

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FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AIR POLLUTANTS AND MATERNAL SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS ON PRETERM BIRTH IN CALIFORNIA URBAN

COUNTIES Article Open access 15 April 2021 AIR POLLUTION AND PRETERM BIRTH: COMPARING TRIMESTER AVERAGE AND REPEATED THRESHOLD EXPOSURE METRICS IN A NORTH CAROLINA BIRTH COHORT, 2003–2015

Article 06 May 2025 EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON ADVERSE BIRTH OUTCOMES AND PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS IN THE U.S. STATE OF KANSAS (2000–2015) Article Open access 06 December 2023 REFERENCES *

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_Environ Res_ 2010; 110: 162–168. Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was supported by grant number 5R21ES017347 from the National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center

at Houston, School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA, Elaine Symanski, Michelle K McHugh & Elena S Craft * Department of Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Science Center at

Houston, School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA Xuan Zhang & Dejian Lai * Environmental Defense Fund, Austin, TX, USA Elena S Craft Authors * Elaine Symanski View author publications

You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Michelle K McHugh View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Xuan Zhang View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Elena S Craft View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Dejian Lai

View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Elaine Symanski. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The

authors declare no conflict of interest. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

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E., McHugh, M., Zhang, X. _et al._ Evaluating narrow windows of maternal exposure to ozone and preterm birth in a large urban area in Southeast Texas. _J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol_ 26,

167–172 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2015.32 Download citation * Received: 27 June 2014 * Accepted: 05 March 2015 * Published: 06 May 2015 * Issue Date: March 2016 * DOI:

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available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative KEYWORDS * ambient air pollution * ozone * preterm birth * cohort bias *

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