Search

Introduction There is a broad consensus that social and economic conditions have an impact on health [1], particularly in maternal and child health [2]. The conceptual framework of the Commission [...], Socioeconomic disadvantage can be harmful for mother's health and can influence child's health long term. The aim of this study is to analyse social inequalities between pregnant women from four INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) cohorts. The analysis included 2,607 pregnant women recruited between 2004 and 2008 from four INMA cohorts. Data on maternal characteristics were collected through two questionnaires completed in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal health, dietary intake, lifestyle habits and self-care related variables was modelled using logistic regression analysis. 33.5% of women had a university level of education and 47% had high occupational class. Women with higher SES reported healthier habits, fewer complications during pregnancy, better weight gain control and attended more prenatal appointments than women with lower SES. The risk of sedentary behaviour and passive smoking was higher among women with a lower level of education (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2 and OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.3, respectively) and with less skilled occupations (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.4-2.0 and OR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.5, respectively). Although both SES indicators--occupation and education--act as social determinants of diet, occupation was a more powerful determinant than education. For other lifestyle and self-caring variables, education was a more powerful predictor than occupation. Social inequalities were observed in health, habits and self-care during pregnancy. Proper care during pregnancy requires the control of common clinical variables and the knowledge of socioeconomic conditions of the pregnant women. Keywords Health inequalities * Pregnancy * Socioeconomic status * Habits * Self-care

BACKGROUND: Green spaces have been associated with improved physical and mental health; however, the available evidence on the impact of green spaces on pregnancy is scarce. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the [...]

BACKGROUND: Air pollution effects on children's neurodevelopment have recendy been suggested to occur most likely through the oxidative stress pathway. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess whether prenatal exposure to residential [...]

BACKGROUND: Many pregnancy and birth cohort studies investigate the health effects of early-life environmental contaminant exposure. An overview of existing studies and their data is needed to improve collaboration, harmonization, [...]

BACKGROUND: A growing body of research suggests that prenatal exposure to air pollution may be harmful to fetal development. We assessed the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy [...]

Introduction Fetal development is a global public health concern because growth in utero is a good indicator of perinatal and postnatal health (Gluckman et al. 2008; Kramer 2003). Its vulnerability [...], BACKGROUND: Air pollution exposure during pregnancy has been associated with impaired fetal growth. However, few studies have measured fetal biometry longitudinally, remaining unclear as to whether there are windows of special vulnerability. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the impact of nitrogen dioxide (N[O.sub.2]) exposure on fetal and neonatal biometry in the Spanish INMA study. METHODS: Biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), abdominal circumference (AC), and estimated fetal weight (EFW) were evaluated for up to 2,478 fetuses in each trimester of pregnancy. Size at 12, 20, and 34 weeks of gestation and growth between these points, as well as anthropometry at birth, were assessed by SD scores derived using cohort-specific growth curves. Temporally adjusted land-use regression was used to estimate exposure to N[O.sub.2] at home addresses for up to 2,415 fetuses. Associations were investigated by linear regression in each cohort and subsequent meta-analysis. RESULTS: A 10-µg/[m.sup.3] increase in average exposure to N[O.sub.2] during weeks 0-12 was associated with reduced growth at weeks 0-12 in AC (-2.1%; 95% CI: -3.7, -0.6) and EFW (-1.6%; 95% CI: -3.0, -0.3). The same exposure was inversely associated with reduced growth at weeks 20-34 in BPD (-2.6%; 95% CI: -3.9, -1.2), AC (-1.8%; 95% CI: -3.3, -0.2), and EFW (-2.1%; 95% CI: -3.7, -0.2). A less consistent pattern of association was observed for FL. The negative association of this exposure with BPD and EFW was significantly stronger in smoking versus nonsmoking mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal exposure to N[O.sub.2] in early pregnancy was associated with reduced fetal growth based on ultrasound measures of growth during pregnancy and measures of size at birth. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409423

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the associations between maternal metabolic parameters and early childhood BMI trajectories.Methods: Two thousand two hundred fifty-one children born in Spain between 2004 and 2008 were analyzed. Five BMI z score trajectories from birth to age 4 years were identified by using latent class growth analysis. Multinomial regression assessed the associations between maternal metabolic parameters and offspring's BMI trajectories.Results: Children in the reference BMI trajectory had average size at birth followed by a slower BMI gain. Maternal prepregnancy obesity was associated with trajectories of accelerated BMI gain departing from either higher (relative risk ratio [RRR] = 1.77; 95% CI: 1.07-2.91) or lower size at birth (RRR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.17-3.12). Gestational weight gain (GWG) above clinical guidelines was associated with a trajectory of higher birth size followed by accelerated BMI gain (RRR = 2.14; 95% CI: 1.53-2.97). Maternal serum triglycerides were negatively associated with BMI trajectories departing from lower birth sizes. Gestational diabetes, maternal serum cholesterol, and C-reactive protein were unrelated to children's BMI trajectories.Conclusions: Maternal prepregnancy obesity, GWG, and serum triglycerides are associated with longitudinal BMI trajectories in early childhood that may increase disease risk in later life. Health initiatives should promote healthy weight status before and during pregnancy to improve maternal and child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported decreases in birth size associated with exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs), but uncertainties remain regarding the critical windows of prenatal exposure and the effects on fetal body segments. OBJECTIVE: We examined the relationship between prenatal OC concentrations and fetal anthropometry. METHODS: We measured 4,4'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (4,4'-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (138, 153, and 180) in 2,369 maternal and 1,140 cord serum samples in four Spanish cohorts (2003--2008). We used linear mixed models to obtain longitudinal growth curves for estimated fetal weight (EFW), abdominal circumference (AC), biparietal diameter (BPD), and femur length (FL) adjusted by parental and fetal characteristics. We calculated standard deviation (SD) scores of growth at 0--12, 12--20, and 20--34 weeks of gestation as well as size at gestational week 34 for the four parameters. We studied the association between OCs and the fetal outcomes by cohort-specific linear models and subsequent meta-analyses. RESULTS: PCBS were associated with a reduction in AC up to mid-pregnancy, and BPD and FL from gestational week 20 onward. An inverse association was also found between HCB and AC growth in early pregnancy. The reduction of these parameters ranged from -4% to --2% for a doubling in the OC concentrations. No association between 4,4'-DDE and fetal growth was observed. CONCLUSIONS: TO our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between prenatal exposure to some PCBs and HCB and fetal growth: AC during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, and BPD and FL later in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]