Wind-carried road pollution linked to lowered birth weight
Living downwind from high-traffic roads can lead to decreases in infant birth weight, a new study finds.
Published June 14 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the research showed that babies born to women who lived downwind of busy roads —which averaged about 25,000 vehicles a day — during pregnancy had lower birth weights than those who lived upwind.
Study researchers examined 10 years of birth data for about 357,000 children who lived within 500 meters of high-volume roads in Texas. Infants born to mothers who lived downwind from roadway air pollution averaged an 11.6 gram decrease in full-term birth weight compared to those who lived upwind.
But babies whose mothers had lived closest to the roadways — within 50 meters — during pregnancy fared worse, averaging a 36.3 gram decrease in birth weight, according to the study, which was released as a prepublication manuscript.
Traffic-related air pollution can contain fine-particle matter, nitrogen oxide, brake dust and other emissions that harm pregnancy health. Nationwide, communities located near major roadways are more likely to have low incomes and more people of color, increasing risks for health disparities for the populations.
Microplastics from cookware can end up in food
Using plastic cookware to prepare meals can release microplastics into your food, according to a new study in Science of the Total Environment.
Researchers used plastic cookware to mix, heat, cool, slice and store a gelled dessert, mimicking the ways the cooking products are commonly used by home consumers.
They then tested their creation, detecting fibrous microplastic particles, as well as tiny bits of polyethylene, polypropylene and polytetrafluoroethylene, a non-stick coating commonly known as PTFE or Teflon.
Based on the results, they estimated that plastic cookware introduces as many as 5,000 microplastic bits a year into homecooked meals.
Cookware used by the researchers included silicone-treated whisks, PTFE-coated pans, polyethylene chopping boards and alkyd-coated knives. Old plastic cookware introduced significantly more microplastic into food, producing nearly twice as many particles by volume as new plastic cookware.
Using hard or sharp utensils with plastic and PTFE-coated cookware or heating the materials at higher temperatures could worsen the release of microplastics, the researchers theorized.
Despite the growing presence of microplastics in food, water and air, the health impacts of ingesting the particles remains unclear, the researchers noted. A study released in March found that people with microplastic pieces in their carotid arteries were more likely to experience a heart attack or stroke.
High blood pressure during pregnancy doubles
Chronic high blood pressure is on the rise among pregnant women in the U.S., threatening both their lives and the health of their fetuses, new findings show.
The prevalence of high blood pressure before or during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy doubled from 2007-2021 in the U.S., according to a study of more than 2 million women published June 17 in Hypertension.
While the study did not examine the reasons for the increase, rising maternal ages and growing obesity rates may have played a role, researchers said.
Having persistent high blood pressure — defined as 140/90 millimeters of mercury or higher — can cause organ damage in pregnant woman and increase risks of preterm birth or having a baby with a low birth weight. It also can be fatal if untreated.
Maternal death rates have been on the rise among pregnant women in the U.S. in recent decades, with the highest rates among Black and American Indian and Alaska Native people. As many as 80% of U.S. maternal deaths are estimated to preventable.
However, only about 60% of the women with high blood pressure in the new study were treated with antihypertensive medications, the researchers found. Findings from a major clinical trial released in April 2022 confirmed that high blood pressure treatment during pregnancy is safe and beneficial.
Global warming could make groundwater unsafe to drink
Rising temperatures from climate change are already worsening droughts and reducing access to clean water around the globe. A new study predicts that much of the groundwater that remains in decades to come may not be safe to drink.
By 2100, average groundwater temperatures could increase by as much as 3.5 degrees Celsius, according to the research, which was published this month in Nature Geoscience. At that temperature, much of the globe’s groundwater would be unsafe without treatment and drinking water could warm while flowing through underground service lines.
Warmer temperatures could also promote the growth of bacteria such as Legionella in groundwater and increase concentrations of chemicals such as arsenic or manganese. Algal blooms could become more common as heat raises phosphorus levels.
Food supplies could also be threatened, as salmon and other species that live in water may die or be unable to reproduce in warmer waters.
As many as 588 million people around the world would be impacted under the highest-warming scenario, the study said. If groundwaters increase by a more conservative average of 2.1 degrees Celsius, up to 188 million people would still be impacted.
While researchers noted that shallow groundwater warming patterns vary based on water table depth and other factors, they projected the lowest rates of groundwater warming would occur in mountainous regions such as the Andes or the Rocky Mountains.
Other public health news of interest this week includes:
• Fine-particle air pollution can increase cardiovascular disease risk for cancer patients, a study in JACC: CardioOncology finds.
• Black, Hispanic and American Indian and Alaska Native people fare worse than white Americans across most social determinants of health, a KFF analysis shows.
• Extreme temperatures, stronger hurricanes and other climate change-fueled environmental impacts harm cardiovascular health, says a new systemic review in JAMA Cardiology.
• A report from the National Safety Council explores higher rates of musculoskeletal disorder injuries among minority workers and shares recommendations.
• Diet quality is improving for many Americans. But Black adults, people with low education levels and those with less incomes are not benefiting as much, reports a study in Annals of Internal Medicine.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.