Exposure to ultrafine particles and childhood obesity: A cross-sectional analysis of the Seven Northeast Cities (SNEC) Study in China.

Sci Total Environ

Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address:

Published: November 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates the relationship between long-term exposure to ultra-fine particles (UFPs) and obesity in children in Northeastern China, highlighting a gap in previous research on air pollution's impact on childhood obesity.
  • The researchers analyzed data from nearly 48,000 children aged 6-18 and found that higher UFP exposure correlated with increased BMI Z-scores and obesity prevalence, especially among boys and those living near busy roads.
  • The findings suggest that reducing UFP exposure could be important for addressing childhood obesity, emphasizing the need for more comprehensive air quality monitoring.

Article Abstract

Background: Studies on the obesogenic effect of air pollution on children have been mixed and sparse. Moreover, due to insufficient air monitoring, few studies have investigated the role of more tiny but unregulated particles (ambient particles with a diameter of 0.1 μm or less, ultrafine particles).

Objective: We sought to explore the associations between long-term exposure to ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs) and childhood obesity in Chinese children.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we randomly recruited 47,990 children, aged 6-18 years, from seven cities in Northeastern China between 2012 and 2013. Child age- and sex-specific z-scores for body mass index (BMI Z-score) and weight status were generated using the World Health Organization growth reference. Four-year average concentrations of UFPs and airborne particulates of diameter ≤ 1 μm (PM), ≤2.5 μm (PM), and ≤10 μm (PM) were estimated at home, using neural network simulated WRF-Chem model and spatiotemporal model, respectively. Confounder-adjusted generalized linear mixed models examined the associations between air pollution and BMI Z-score and the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Result: We found that UFPs exposure was associated with greater childhood BMI Z-score and a higher likelihood of obesity. Compared with the lowest quartile, higher quartiles of UFPs were associated with greater odds for obesity prevalence in children (i.e., the adjusted OR was 1.25; 95 % CI, 1.12-1.39; 1.43; 95 % CI, 1.27-1.61; and 1.41; 95 % CI, 1.25-1.58 for the second, third, and fourth quartile, respectively). Similar associations were observed for PM, PM, and PM, and were greater in boys and children living close to roadways.

Conclusions: Long-term UFPs exposure was associated with a greater likelihood of childhood obesity, and stronger associations on BMI Z-score were observed in boys and children living close to roadways. This study indicates that more attention should be paid to the health effects of UFPs, and routinely monitoring of UFPs should be considered.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157524DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

bmi z-score
16
childhood obesity
12
associated greater
12
ultrafine particles
8
air pollution
8
ufps exposure
8
exposure associated
8
boys children
8
children living
8
living close
8

Similar Publications

Purpose: Whether breast density mediates associations between early life body size and pubertal timing with postmenopausal breast cancer is underexplored.

Methods: We studied 33,939 Danish women attending the Capital Mammography Screening Program at ages 50-69 years. Early life anthropometry and pubertal timing information came from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A Risk Score to Identify Low Bone Mineral Density for Age in Young Patients with Anorexia Nervosa.

Nutrients

December 2024

Department of Emergency and Post-Emergency Psychiatry, CHU Montpellier, INSERM, University of Montpellier, 34295 Montpellier, France.

Objective: Developing a scoring assessment tools for the determination of low bone mass for age at lumbar spine and hip in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN).

Methods: The areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was determined with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). In 331 women with AN and 121 controls, aged from 14.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Childhood obesity has increased rapidly in recent years and is now a global epidemic. To combat this, MyBFF@school program, a multi-faceted obesity intervention incorporating physical activity in the form of small-sided games (SSG), nutrition, and psychology components for schoolchildren was designed. This paper is aimed at describing the protocol of the MyBFF@school program and presenting the baseline findings including the overweight and obesity prevalence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Effective and feasible large-scale interventions are urgently needed to reverse the current rise in childhood obesity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent intervention program, MyBFF@school, on anthropometric indices and body composition metrics among overweight and obese adolescent schoolchildren in Malaysia.

Methods: This is a cluster randomized controlled trial which involved schoolchildren aged 13, 14 and 16 years old from 15 out of 415 government secondary schools in central Peninsular Malaysia which were randomly assigned into six intervention (N = 579 schoolchildren) and nine control (N = 462 schoolchildren).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: MyBFF@school program consisting physical activity in the formed small-sided games (SSG), nutrition and psychology education was designed to combat obesity among schoolchildren in Malaysia. It was expected to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, hence, contributing to obesity treatment and prevention. Thus, we aimed to study the effects of the MyBFF@school program on the cardiorespiratory fitness of overweight and obese primary schoolchildren.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!