Chang YH, Chien YW, Chang CH, Chen PL, Lu TH, Hsu IL, Li CY. Associations of maternal motor vehicle crashes during pregnancy with offspring's neonatal birth outcomes.
Int J Epidemiol 2023;
52:1774-1782. [PMID:
37738433 DOI:
10.1093/ije/dyad125]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Adverse events in fetuses are well researched but studies on the follow-up health outcomes of infants exposed to maternal motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) during pregnancy have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to investigate the association of maternal exposure to MVCs during pregnancy with the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes.
METHODS
This population-based cohort study used data from birth notifications in Taiwan. A total of 19 277 offspring with maternal exposure to MVCs during pregnancy and 76 015 randomly selected comparison offspring without such exposure were selected. Neonatal adverse outcomes were identified from National Health Insurance medical claims data. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of neonatal adverse outcomes.
RESULTS
Offspring exposed to maternal MVCs during pregnancy had a higher risk of birth defects (aOR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.04-1.41) than offspring without such exposure. This positive association was sustained with exposure to an MVC during the first or second trimester. A dose-response relationship (P = 0.0023) was observed between the level of injury severity and the risk of birth defects.
CONCLUSIONS
In the early stages of pregnancy, maternal exposure to MVCs may entail a risk of birth defects in the offspring. The potential mechanisms for the associations of maternal exposure to MVCs with birth defects need further investigation.
Collapse