Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)
Abstract/Artist Statement
Being one of the leading causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs), including eclampsia, preeclampsia, and gestational hypertension, are a major public health burden. Research links fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) to increased risk of HDPs, but such studies are lacking in wildfire-prone rural areas. While PM2.5 concentrations have been decreasing around most of the US in the last few decades, Montana and other western states have experienced an increase in PM2.5 concentrations due to increasing wildfire activity.
Moreover, a growing body of research into the health effects of air pollution has grown methodologic literature to improve how such research is conducted. As these research methods advance, preserving individual confidentiality is crucial. Geomasking is a class of methods that conceals individuals’ locations while attempting to preserve the location-health outcome relationship. However, in rural areas like much of Montana, adequately concealing an individual’s location may introduce substantial error into their air pollution exposure estimate. By extension, this could introduce bias into conclusions about the true association between air pollution and the health outcome of interest.
The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine the association between PM2.5 and HDPs and (2) to use simulation to explore conditions under which geomasking may introduce bias into the results of research on the health effects of air pollution.
Using Montana birth certificate records from 2008-2019, we used multiple logistic regression and found a 10% increase in risk of HDP associated with each 3 µg/m3 increase in mean pregnancy PM2.5 exposure and used distributed lag nonlinear models to identify two sensitive time periods of exposure: (1) the week of conception and three weeks before and after conception; and (2) gestational weeks 19 through 33.
The geomasking simulation is in progress and results will be presented.
Mentor Name
Erin Semmens
Personal Statement
Do you know why everyday grocery store items, from cereals to rice, are fortified with folic acid? This intervention came from research identifying an increased risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) if the gestating parent is folate deficient at conception. And guess what? It works! Countries that require folic acid fortification have seen up to a 55% decrease in NTDs. This is public health, and this is why I do public health research. My graduate research on the association between fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) was deeply shaped by witnessing two close friends battle preeclampsia during their pregnancies. During the same weeks when I was writing a literature review for my dissertation proposal, I spent dozens of hours in hospital rooms, supporting them and their families through the complexities of their medical diagnoses. Fortunately, they had proximity to excellent medical care in Missoula, underscoring the critical importance of accessible healthcare. My friends and their babies are thankfully now healthy and thriving. Preeclampsia and other HDPs take on added gravity in Montana, where long journeys to medical facilities are common. Though not preeclampsia, I experienced complications in my own two pregnancies that necessitated over an hour of travel each way for medical care. This firsthand experience highlighted the challenges faced by pregnant individuals in our predominantly rural state. My research seeks to inspire individuals, medical providers, and policymakers to evaluate the context of Montana’s increasing wildfire activity and implement measures to protect those who are growing and birthing the next generation of Montanans. Interventions including home air filtration units and policies mandating adequate air filtration in public buildings and new construction can substantially reduce our exposure to air pollution. This is public health, and this is why I do public health research.
Video presentation
Ambient air pollution, geomasking, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Montana
UC 333
Being one of the leading causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs), including eclampsia, preeclampsia, and gestational hypertension, are a major public health burden. Research links fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) to increased risk of HDPs, but such studies are lacking in wildfire-prone rural areas. While PM2.5 concentrations have been decreasing around most of the US in the last few decades, Montana and other western states have experienced an increase in PM2.5 concentrations due to increasing wildfire activity.
Moreover, a growing body of research into the health effects of air pollution has grown methodologic literature to improve how such research is conducted. As these research methods advance, preserving individual confidentiality is crucial. Geomasking is a class of methods that conceals individuals’ locations while attempting to preserve the location-health outcome relationship. However, in rural areas like much of Montana, adequately concealing an individual’s location may introduce substantial error into their air pollution exposure estimate. By extension, this could introduce bias into conclusions about the true association between air pollution and the health outcome of interest.
The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine the association between PM2.5 and HDPs and (2) to use simulation to explore conditions under which geomasking may introduce bias into the results of research on the health effects of air pollution.
Using Montana birth certificate records from 2008-2019, we used multiple logistic regression and found a 10% increase in risk of HDP associated with each 3 µg/m3 increase in mean pregnancy PM2.5 exposure and used distributed lag nonlinear models to identify two sensitive time periods of exposure: (1) the week of conception and three weeks before and after conception; and (2) gestational weeks 19 through 33.
The geomasking simulation is in progress and results will be presented.