A local team of Texas A&M researchers concluded in their groundbreaking study that pregnant women who breath in bad air affected by pollution may experience a number of severe consequences for their babies. Among these possible consequences are an increased risk of birth defects and even deaths of the fetus during pregnancy.
About the Study
The study was conducted by a joint effort between researchers from Texas A&M Health Science Center, Texas A&M’s Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Geosciences, and the University of California-San Diego.
The researchers tested subject rats and the negative health effects of exposure to harmful particulate matter that was comprised of ammonium sulfate, which Houston has detected a large percent of in its air (51%). Ammonium comes from ammonia, produced from agricultural or automobile emissions while sulfate is often produced from coal burning, which is a major energy source throughout the world.
Findings of the Study
The researchers definitively concluded that air pollution decreased the likelihood that the fetus would survive and also shortened the gestation period, which often resulted in the animals being born at a smaller body weight and having damage to their organs, including their hearts and brains. The researchers were not certain on what caused the significant consequences but opined that the acidity or the size of nanoparticles of pollution were the cause.
The team concluded that their research indicates that air pollution poses a substantial danger to pregnant females. They acknowledge that there are not adequate clinical recommendations to help prevent and treat health issues related to air pollution. They also stated that their study has shown that using exposure experiments that are well-controlled on animal test subjects offer significant benefits on studying the effects of air pollution control. Additionally, they hope that their model can be used to take the next steps to determining therapeutic interventions and treatment procedures for health conditions caused by air pollution. The study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science’s latest issue.
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/05/21/1902925116
