Exposure to ambient particulate matter and ovarian reserve impairment among reproductive age women in China.

Ovarian aging, characterized by a decline in ovarian reserve, is a critical concern in female reproductive health. However, the evidence linking ambient air pollution exposure with ovarian reserve impairment remains limited. We aimed to estimate the association between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM _2.5 ) and respirable particulate matter (PM ₁₀ ) and key indicators of ovarian reserve, including antral follicle count (AFC), ovarian volume (OV), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), FSH/LH ratio, and inhibin B (INHB). The cohort consisted of women attending an infertility clinic at the Tongji Reproductive and Environmental (TREE) study between 2018 and 2020. We used multivariate linear and Poisson regression models to estimate the association between PM _2.5 and PM ₁₀ exposure and these ovarian reserve indicators. Our results showed that PM _2.5 and PM ₁₀ exposure were associated with a reduction in AFC and an increase in E2 levels, highlighting the adverse effects of ambient air pollution on ovarian reserve. Our findings have important public health implications, emphasizing the urgent need for interventions to safeguard female reproductive health and reduce exposure to ambient air pollution.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)