scholarly journals Air Pollution Metric Analysis While Determining Susceptible Periods of Pregnancy for Low Birth Weight

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua L. Warren ◽  
Montserrat Fuentes ◽  
Amy H. Herring ◽  
Peter H. Langlois

Multiple metrics to characterize air pollution are available for use in environmental health analyses in addition to the standard Air Quality System (AQS) pollution monitoring data. These metrics have complete spatial-temporal coverage across a domain and are therefore crucial in calculating pollution exposures in geographic areas where AQS monitors are not present. We investigate the impact that two of these metrics, output from a deterministic chemistry model (CMAQ) and from a spatial-temporal downscaler statistical model which combines information from AQS and CMAQ (DS), have on risk assessment. Using each metric, we analyze ambient ozone's effect on low birth weight utilizing a Bayesian temporal probit regression model. Weekly windows of susceptibility are identified and analyzed jointly for all births in a subdomain of Texas, 2001–2004, and results from the different pollution metrics are compared. Increased exposures during weeks 20–23 of the pregnancy are identified as being associated with low birth weight by the DS metric. Use of the CMAQ output alone results in increased variability of the final risk assessment estimates, while calibrating the CMAQ through use of the DS metric provides results more closely resembling those of the AQS. The AQS data are still preferred when available.

2010 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Honorina de Almeida ◽  
Sonia I. Venancio ◽  
Maria Teresa C. Sanches ◽  
Daisuke Onuki

Author(s):  
Mouctar Sow ◽  
Myriam De Spiegelaere ◽  
Marie-France Raynault

Variations in social policy between countries provide opportunities to assess the impact of these policies on health inequities. This study compares the risk of low birth weight in Brussels and Montreal, according to household composition, and discusses the impact of income support policies. For each context, we estimated the impact of income support policies on the extent of poverty of welfare recipients, using the model family method. Based on the differences found, we tested hypotheses on the association between low birth weight and household composition, using administrative data from the birth register and social security in each region. The extent of poverty of welfare families differs according to household composition. In Quebec, the combination of low welfare benefits and larger family allowances widens the gap between households with children and those without children. The risk of LBW also differs between these two contexts according to the number of children. Compared to children born into large welfare families, first-born children are more at risk in Montreal than in Brussels. In addition to the usual comparative studies on the topic, our study highlights the importance of an evaluative perspective that considers the combination of different types of income support measures to better identify the most vulnerable households.


Author(s):  
Tamara van Donge ◽  
Anne Smits ◽  
John van den Anker ◽  
Karel Allegaert

Background: Disentangling renal adverse drug reactions from confounders remains a major challenge to assess causality and severity in neonates, with additional limitations related to the available tools (modified Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome, or Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases pediatric toxicity table). Vancomycin and amikacin are nephrotoxic while still often prescribed in neonates. We selected these compounds to assess their impact on creatinine dynamics as a sensitive tool to detect a renal impairment signal. Methods: A recently developed dynamical model that characterized serum creatinine concentrations of 217 extremely low birth weight (<1000 g, ELBW) neonates (4036 observations) was enhanced with data on vancomycin and/or amikacin exposure to identify a potential effect of antibiotic exposure by nonlinear mixed-effects modelling. Results: Seventy-seven percent of ELBW patients were exposed to either vancomycin or amikacin. Antibiotic exposure resulted in a modest increase in serum creatinine and a transient decrease in creatinine clearance. The serum creatinine increase was dependent on gestational age, illustrated by a decrease with 56% in difference in serum creatinine between a 24 or 32-week old neonate, when exposed in the 3rd week after birth. Conclusions: A previously described model was used to explore and quantify the impact of amikacin or vancomycin exposure on creatinine dynamics. Such tools serve to explore minor changes, or compare minor differences between treatment modalities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Duah Dwomoh

Abstract Background Ghana did not meet the Millennium Development Goal 4 of reducing child mortality by two-thirds and may not meet SDG (2030). There is a need to direct scarce resources to mitigate the impact of the most important risk factors influencing high neonatal deaths. This study applied both spatial and non-spatial regression models to explore the differential impact of environmental, maternal, and child associated risk factors on neonatal deaths in Ghana. Methods The study relied on data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (GDHS) and the Ghana Maternal Health Survey (GMHS) conducted between 1998 and 2017 among 49,908 women of reproductive age and 31,367 children under five (GDHS-1998 = 3298, GDHS-2003 = 3844, GDHS-2008 = 2992, GDHS-2014 = 5884, GMHS-2017 = 15,349). Spatial Autoregressive Models that account for spatial autocorrelation in the data at the cluster-level and non-spatial statistical models with appropriate sampling weight adjustment were used to study factors associated with neonatal deaths, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Population density, multiple births, smaller household sizes, high parity, and low birth weight significantly increased the risk of neonatal deaths over the years. Among mothers who had multiple births, the risk of having neonatal deaths was approximately four times as high as the risk of neonatal deaths among mothers who had only single birth [aRR = 3.42, 95% CI: 1.63–7.17, p < 0.05]. Neonates who were perceived by their mothers to be small were at a higher risk of neonatal death compared to very large neonates [aRR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.19–3.63, p < 0.05]. A unit increase in the number of children born to a woman of reproductive age was associated with a 49% increased risk in neonatal deaths [aRR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.30–1.69, p < 0.05]. Conclusion Neonatal mortality in Ghana remains relatively high, and the factors that predisposed children to neonatal death were birth size that were perceived to be small, low birth weight, higher parity, and multiple births. Improving pregnant women’s nutritional patterns and providing special support to women who have multiple deliveries will reduce neonatal mortality in Ghana.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 2333794X2110317
Author(s):  
Faisal A. Nawaz ◽  
Meshal A. Sultan

The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of low birth weight and other perinatal risk factors in children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders. This is one of the first studies in the Arabian Gulf region focused on the contribution of these factors toward the development of various disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and other mental disorders. This descriptive study was based on qualitative data analysis. We reviewed retrospective information from the electronic medical records of 692 patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The prevalence of low birth weight in children with mental disorders was significantly higher as compared to the general population (16% vs 6% respectively). Furthermore, other risk factors, including high birth weight and preterm birth were noted to have a significant association with neurodevelopmental disorders. Future research on the impact of perinatal risk factors will contribute to advancement of early intervention guidelines.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. e74-e74 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Resnick ◽  
R. V. Gueorguieva ◽  
R. L. Carter ◽  
M. Ariet ◽  
Y. Sun ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document