Living close to busy roads may increase risk of premature birth

A recent study conducted by the the Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) provided a strong link between the two. The study involved 970 mothers and newborn babies from Logan city, south of Brisbane.

The research has revealed that infants are born earlier when their mothers are living within 400 metres of clusters of freeways and main roads. It shows pregnancy times were reduced by up to 4.4 per cent, from 40 weeks to 38.2 weeks.

The research team involved in the study suggest that air pollution may be the major factor leading to the numbers of premature births. This mirrors previous Australian and international research that has linked traffic pollution to other health problems for children, such as small birth size and the development of asthma.

UWA School of Population Health Associate Professor Peter Franklin has studied the connection between asthma and traffic pollution.

His research has focused mainly on indoor air pollution, showing the relationships between indoor air pollutants and respiratory symptoms in children.

When asked how these health problems can be reduced, Professor Franklin says,

“In an ideal world we would use cars less often as traffic is the main source of air pollution in cities and unfortunately this requires a drastic behavioural change in our city residents and there is little evidence that people really are keen to make changes to their driving habits,

“Fortunately cars have become more efficient and less polluting with time but technology will have to keep improving as population [and potential drivers] grow. The issue of traffic pollution should be considered in urban planning but of course there will be competing issues of space and suitable buffers, which is not an easy thing to resolve.”

While Professor Franklin has not yet investigated outdoor pollution, he says the UWA plans to undertake a similar cohort study in which they will investigate the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution on birth outcomes and respiratory symptoms in early life. He also says they may recruit similar numbers as the QLD group.

(Source: Science Network Western Australia)

More information

For more information about different pregnancy investigations, including pregnancy tests, obstetric ultrasound, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling as well as useful tools and animations, see Pregnancy Investigations.