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Rémy Slama,^1,2,3,4 Verena Morgenstern,¹ Josef Cyrys,^1,5 Anne Zutavern,^1,6 Olf Herbarth,^7,8 Heinz-Erich Wichmann,^1,9 Joachim Heinrich,¹ and the LISA Study Group

¹GSF–National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany; ²INSERM, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, UMR822, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France; ³INED, Institut National des Etudes Démographiques, Paris, France; ⁴Univ Paris-Sud, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France; ⁵WZU–Environmental Science Center, University Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany; ⁶Kinderklinik und Kinderpoliklinik in Dr. v. Hauner'schen Kinderspital, Munich, Germany; ⁷UFZ–Umwelt Forschungszentrum, Human Exposure Research and Epidemiology, Leipzig, Germany; ⁸University of Leipzig, Medical Faculty, Leipzig, Germany; ⁹Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Institute of Medical Data Management, Biometrics and Epidemiology, Munich, Germany

Abstract
Background: Some studies have suggested that particulate matter (PM) levels during pregnancy may be associated with birth weight. Road traffic is a major source of fine PM (PM with aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 µm ; PM_2.5) .

Objective: We determined to characterize the influence of maternal exposure to atmospheric pollutants due to road traffic and urban activities on offspring term birth weight.

Methods: Women from a birth cohort [the LISA (Influences of Lifestyle Related Factors on the Human Immune System and Development of Allergies in Children) cohort] who delivered a non-premature baby with a birth weight > 2,500 g in Munich metropolitan area were included. We assessed PM_2.5, PM_2.5 absorbance (which depends on the blackness of PM_2.5, a marker of traffic-related air pollution) , and nitrogen dioxide levels using a land-use regression model, taking into account the type and length of roads, population density, land coverage around the home address, and temporal variations in pollution during pregnancy. Using Poisson regression, we estimated prevalence ratios (PR) of birth weight < 3,000 g, adjusted for gestational duration, sex, maternal smoking, height, weight, and education.

Results: Exposure was defined for 1,016 births. Taking the lowest quartile of exposure during pregnancy as a reference, the PR of birth weight < 3,000 g associated with the highest quartile was 1.7 for PM_2.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) , 1.2–2.7], 1.8 for PM_2.5 absorbance (95% CI, 1.1–2.7) , and 1.2 for NO₂ (95% CI, 0.7–1.7) . The PR associated with an increase of 1 µg/m³ in PM_2.5 levels was 1.13 (95% CI, 1.00–1.29) .

Conclusion: Increases in PM_2.5 levels and PM_2.5 absorbance were associated with decreases in term birth weight. Traffic-related air pollutants may have adverse effects on birth weight.

Key words: atmospheric pollution, birth weight, diesel soot, environment, geographic information system, intrauterine growth restriction, particulate matter, pregnancy, reproduction, road traffic, sensitivity analysis. Environ Health Perspect 115:1283–1292 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.10047 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 1 June 2007]

Address correspondence to R. Slama, GSF-Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany. Telephone: 49 89 3187 4578. Fax: 49 89 3187 3380. E-mail: slama@vjf.inserm.fr.

We thank the Bavarian Environmental Protection Agency (Bayerisches Landesamt für Umweltschutz) for providing the data from the Munich monitoring station. We thank J. Bouyer and B. Ducot for useful comments.

This study was supported by the BFHZ-CCFB (Bavarian-French Center for Universitary Cooperation) . The LISA cohort was funded by a grant from BMBF (German Ministry of Research) . The air quality measurement campaign was conducted within the TRAPCA project, funded by European Union Environment contract ENV4 CT97-0506.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 3 January 2007 ; accepted 31 May 2007.