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There is a growing concern about the possible adverse effects of exposure to air pollution on health during pregnancy. Therefore, a priority of the INMA (environment and childhood) study was to estimate personal exposure to traffic-related air pollution. In the cohort from Valencia (n = 855). ambient levels of NO2 were measured at 93 sampling sites spread over the study area during four different sampling periods of 7 days each. Multiple regression models were used to map ambient NO2 over the area. Geographical data and predictions from kriging obtained by the "let one out" procedure were used a:; predictors. Individual exposure was assigned as 1) the estimated ambient NO2 level at the home address and 2) the average of estimated ambient NO2 levels at home and work addresses, weighted by the time spent in each environment. Estimations were temporally customised using the NO2 levels registered daily by the regional Air Pollution Monitoring Network. The entire pregnancy and each trimester were taken as exposure windows. The model for the mean levels of NO2 during the sampling periods explained 81% of the variation in NO2 levels. Relative percent differences between the two models of personal exposure assignment were less than 9% for more than 90% of the participants; however the rest of them showed marked differences. Personal exposure estimates were slightly higher in the second model. In both cases, exposure during the whole pregnancy was strongly correlated with exposure in the second trimester. Considering periods shorter than the entire pregnancy will provide us the opportunity to identify specific windows of susceptibility. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Objectives: To describe the degree of annoyance caused by air pollution and noise in pregnant women in a birth cohort; to determine the modifying factors and their relation with exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO,). Methods: The study population was 855 pregnant women in Valencia, Spain. Annoyance caused by air pollution and noise, and explanatory factors were obtained from 786 pregnant women through a questionnaire. NO2 levels were determined combining measurements at 93 points within the area of study and using geostatistical techniques (kriging). Results: In all 7.9% of the women reported high annoyance caused by air pollution and 13.1% high annoyance caused by noise. There was a significant difference in the degree of annoyance due to both air pollution and noise depending on the area where the women lived and their working status. The degree of annoyance correlated better with measured NO, at the municipality level (air pollution: r = 0.53; noise: r = 0.44) than at the individual level (air pollution and noise: r = 0.21). On multivariate analysis, being a housewife, higher NO2 levels and high traffic density were associated with higher degrees of annoyance. Conclusions: There was a high percentage of women who perceived medium-high annoyance due to noise and air pollution. Annoyance caused by environmental pollutants could lead to some psychological effects, which impair the quality of life, or even physiological ones, which affect prenatal development. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction: The INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente (Spanish for Environment and Childhood]) project is a cooperative research network. This project aims to study the effects of environment and diet on fetal and early childhood development. This article aims to present the air pollutant exposure protocol during pregnancy and fetal and early childhood development of the INMA project. Methods: The information to assess air pollutant exposure during pregnancy is based on outdoor measurement of air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide [NO2], volatile organic compounds [VOC], ozone, particulate matter [PM10, PM2.5] and of their composition (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]); measurement of indoor and personal exposure (VOC and NO2); urinary measurement of a biological marker of hydrocarbon exposure (1-hydroxypyrene); and data gathered by questionnaires and geographic information systems. These data allow individual air pollutant exposure indexes to be developed, which can then be used to analyze the possible effects of exposure on fetal development and child health. Conclusion: This protocol and the type of study allow an approximation to individual air pollutant exposure to be obtained. Finally, the large number of participants (N = 4,000), as well as their geographic and social diversity, increases the study's potential.