Impact of Saharan dust episodes on preterm births in Guadeloupe (French West Indies).

Objectives: Large amounts of mineral dust are transported from their African sources in the Saharan-Sahel region to the Caribbean Sea, generating peak exposures to particulate matter ≤10 µm (PM ₁₀ ). This study aimed to investigate the impact of Saharan dust episodes on preterm births in the Guadeloupe archipelago.
Methods: The study population consisted of 909 pregnant women who were enrolled in the TIMOUN mother-child cohort between 2004 and 2007. Desert dust episodes were assessed from PM ₁₀ concentrations recorded at the unique background air quality monitoring station located in Pointe-à-Pitre. For each woman, the daily PM ₁₀ concentrations were averaged over the entire pregnancy, and the proportion of days with intense dust episodes (≥55 µg PM ₁₀ /m ³ ) during pregnancy was calculated. Weighted logistic regression models adjusting for known individual sociomedical risk factors were used to estimate ORs and 95% CIs for preterm birth.
Results: During pregnancy, the mean PM ₁₀ concentrations ranged from 13.17 to 34.92 µg/m ³ , whereas the proportion of intense dust events ranged from 0.00% to 19.41%. Increased adjusted ORs were found for both the mean PM ₁₀ concentrations and the proportion of intense dust events (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.81, and OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.98 per SD change, respectively). Restriction to spontaneous preterm births produced similar ORs but with wider 95% CIs.
Conclusion: Considering the personal and social burden of this adverse pregnancy outcome, this finding is of importance for both healthcare workers and policy makers to provide necessary preventive measures.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
(© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)