Ambient air pollution exposure during pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus in Shenyang, China: a prospective cohort study

The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing worldwide. Reports of the association between air pollution exposure and GDM have been inconsistent in previous studies. We conducted a cohort study to investigate the associations between air pollution exposure and GDM in the city of Shenyang in Northeast China for the first time. We studied interactions with different air pollutant exposures and conducted a stratified analysis according to folic acid intake, age, body mass index (BMI), primiparity, and sleep quality. We found significant associations between prenatal exposure to NOx and SO2 and the development of GDM during the second trimester: the largest effect on GDM was exposure to SO2 (odds ratio (OR): 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23–2.56) in the largest quartile compared with the lowest quartile. Significant interactions between age, BMI, parity, sleep quality, and air pollution exposures were observed; stratified analysis showed stronger associations between GDM and high air pollutant exposure in pregnant women with older age, larger BMI, poorer sleep quality, and more parity. We found that air pollution exposure during the second trimester was significantly associated with GDM in a prospective birth cohort study in Northeast China. SO2, oxynitride (NOX, NO2, NO), CO, and O3 all showed a linear trend effect on GDM. Interactions between prenatal air pollution exposure and other factors, such as age at pregnancy, BMI before pregnancy, primiparity, folic acid intake, and sleep quality, during the second trimester might exist.