Category: Public Health/Global Health
Poster Session I
The Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS) enrolled 1,414 pregnant women from Kintampo, Ghana. Gestational age (GA) was established by ultrasound at enrollment; birth weight, length and head circumference were measured using standardized protocols and digital scales. We employed distributed lag models (DLMs) to examine time-varying associations between prenatal exposure to the Harmattan (yes/no) for each week gestation and birth weight, length and head circumference among infants born live > 37 weeks. DLMs also estimated cumulative effects over gestation. Models were adjusted for maternal age, parity, infant sex, ethnicity, asset index and number of antenatal visits.
Results: Analyses included n=1261 mother-infant pairs. Harmattan exposure from 3-7, 18-29, and 38-40 weeks’ gestation (Figure, panel A) was associated with lower birth weight with a cumulative effect of Harmattan over gestation on birth weight of -714 grams (95% CI -1159, -268). Separately, Harmattan exposure from 4-12 and 23-31 weeks' gestation (Figure, panel B) was associated with smaller head circumference with a cumulative effect of Harmattan over gestation on head circumference of -2.9 centimeters (95% CI -5.3, -0.5). We did not identify an association between Harmattan and birth length.
Conclusion: These data suggest that prenatal Harmattan exposure is associated with lower birth weight and smaller head circumference. Certain gestational windows may have greater impact than others. Climate change threatens to make Harmattan more severe lending urgency to better understanding its effects on health beginning in utero.
Kwaku Poku asante, MBBS, PhD
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Brong Ahafo, Ghana, Ghana
Kennetha A. Ae-Ngibise, MSc
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Ashley A. Appiagyei, MD, MPH
Resident Physician
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Mohammed Mujtaba Nuhu, MPH
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Anna M. Modest, PhD,MPH
Faculty Scientist
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Ellen Boamah, MPH
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Brong Ahafo, Ghana, Ghana
Ashlinn Quinn, PhD
Berkeley Air Monitoring Group
Berkeley, California, United States
Kaali Seyram, MD, MPH
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Brong Ahafo, Ghana, Ghana
Steven Chillrud, PhD
The Earth Institute
New York, New York, United States
Oscar Agyei, BS
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Patrick Kinney, PhD
Boston University School of Public Health
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Abena Konadu Yawson, BSc, MBBCH, MPH
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Darby Jack, PhD
Columbia University
New York, New York, United States
Louisa Iddrisu, MSc
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Jones Opoku-Mensah, BSc, MSc
Kintampo Health Research Centre
Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Alison Lee, MD
Mount Sinai Hospital
New York, New York, United States
Blair Wylie, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Columbia University
New York, New York, United States