Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Prenatal air pollution exposure and placental biomarkers of oxidative stress and ageing : results from the BiSC cohort

Gómez-Herrera, Laura ; Mandakh, Yumjirmaa LU ; Martens, Dries S. ; Cosin-Tomas, Marta ; Aguilar-Lacasaña, Sofía ; Galmés, Toni ; Rivas, Ioar ; Domínguez, Alan ; Cirach, Marta and Zanini, María Julia , et al. (2026) In International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 277.
Abstract

Prenatal air pollution exposure has been associated with impaired fetal growth. However, the underlying biological mechanisms, potentially involving the placenta, remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal air pollution exposure on placental biomarkers of oxidative stress and cellular ageing, and to determine whether these biomarkers contribute to the association between air pollution exposure and birth weight. The study included 499 participants from the Barcelona Life Study Cohort (BiSC), recruited between October 2018 and April 2021. Maternal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon, and particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) during pregnancy was estimated using hybrid... (More)

Prenatal air pollution exposure has been associated with impaired fetal growth. However, the underlying biological mechanisms, potentially involving the placenta, remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal air pollution exposure on placental biomarkers of oxidative stress and cellular ageing, and to determine whether these biomarkers contribute to the association between air pollution exposure and birth weight. The study included 499 participants from the Barcelona Life Study Cohort (BiSC), recruited between October 2018 and April 2021. Maternal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon, and particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) during pregnancy was estimated using hybrid Land Use Regression (LUR)-dispersion models. Placental relative mitochondrial DNA content (mtDNAcn) and telomere length (TL) were measured by qPCR, and associations between exposure and placental biomarkers were estimated using linear mixed-effects regression models adjusted for covariates. Increasing levels of NO2 and PM2.5 during the 1st and 3rd trimesters and across the entire pregnancy, as well as black carbon during the 3rd trimester, were significantly associated with an increase in placental mtDNAcn. No significant associations were observed between prenatal air pollution exposure and placental TL, nor between either placental biomarker and birth weight. In conclusion, prenatal air pollution exposure was associated with differences in placental mtDNAcn but not TL, and neither biomarker was significantly associated with birth weight.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
volume
277
article number
114865
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:42492149
  • scopus:105045393351
ISSN
1438-4639
DOI
10.1016/j.ijheh.2026.114865
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d4aa7b79-792a-4459-92dd-006a053db436
date added to LUP
2026-09-29 14:44:02
date last changed
2026-09-29 14:44:27
@article{d4aa7b79-792a-4459-92dd-006a053db436,
  abstract     = {{<p>Prenatal air pollution exposure has been associated with impaired fetal growth. However, the underlying biological mechanisms, potentially involving the placenta, remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal air pollution exposure on placental biomarkers of oxidative stress and cellular ageing, and to determine whether these biomarkers contribute to the association between air pollution exposure and birth weight. The study included 499 participants from the Barcelona Life Study Cohort (BiSC), recruited between October 2018 and April 2021. Maternal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>), black carbon, and particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) during pregnancy was estimated using hybrid Land Use Regression (LUR)-dispersion models. Placental relative mitochondrial DNA content (mtDNAcn) and telomere length (TL) were measured by qPCR, and associations between exposure and placental biomarkers were estimated using linear mixed-effects regression models adjusted for covariates. Increasing levels of NO<sub>2</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub> during the 1st and 3rd trimesters and across the entire pregnancy, as well as black carbon during the 3rd trimester, were significantly associated with an increase in placental mtDNAcn. No significant associations were observed between prenatal air pollution exposure and placental TL, nor between either placental biomarker and birth weight. In conclusion, prenatal air pollution exposure was associated with differences in placental mtDNAcn but not TL, and neither biomarker was significantly associated with birth weight.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gómez-Herrera, Laura and Mandakh, Yumjirmaa and Martens, Dries S. and Cosin-Tomas, Marta and Aguilar-Lacasaña, Sofía and Galmés, Toni and Rivas, Ioar and Domínguez, Alan and Cirach, Marta and Zanini, María Julia and Domínguez-Gallardo, Carla and Muniesa, Marta and Casu, Giulia and Gascon, Mireia and Malmqvist, Ebba and Llurba, Elisa and Foraster, Maria and Sunyer, Jordi and Bustamante, Mariona and Gómez-Roig, María Dolores and Nawrot, Tim S. and Dadvand, Payam}},
  issn         = {{1438-4639}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health}},
  title        = {{Prenatal air pollution exposure and placental biomarkers of oxidative stress and ageing : results from the BiSC cohort}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2026.114865}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ijheh.2026.114865}},
  volume       = {{277}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}