Pregnancies at Risk from September 11th Debris

Philip J. Landrigan, MD
Mount Sinai School of Medicine of NYU
P42ES07384

Background: Low birth weight is a recognized risk factor for some developmental problems. Heavy smoking by pregnant women and exposure to extreme air pollution have been linked to low birth weight. To see if pollution from the destruction of the World Trade Center produced similar effects, NIEHS-supported researchers at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center tracked pregnant women who were living near the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks.

Advance: The team recruited 187 women who were pregnant and in the area of the World Trade Center on September 11 or during the 3 weeks following. For comparison, the researchers tracked 2,300 pregnant women from elsewhere in New York City who delivered babies at the same time. There were few differences between the two groups, but the most striking was that 8.2% of babies in the World Trade Center group were in the lowest 10% of birth weights for their gestational ages, compare to only 3.8% in the control group.

Implication: This study shows a strong effect even with a small number of participants. The research team speculates the cause could be exposure to particulate matter or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Possible long-term effects on the development of these children are unclear and will require continuous follow-up.

Citation: Berkowitz GS, Wolff MS, Janevic TM, Holzman IR, Yehuda R, and Landrigan PJ. The World Trade Center Disaster and Intrauterine Growth Restriction. JAMA. 290(5): 595-596.