Environmental Exposures

Publications under ‘Environmental Exposures’ examine the associations of environmental exposures with fertility and reproductive outcomes. 

Rosofsky A, Janulewicz P, Thayer KA, McClean M, Wise LA, Calafat AM, Mikkelsen EM, Taylor KW, Hatch EE. Exposure to multiple chemicals in a cohort of reproductive-age Danish women. Environ Res 2017; 154: 73-85.

Exposure to environmental chemicals is ubiquitous among reproductive-aged Danish women. Better understanding of the health effects of chemical exposures during pregnancy is needed.

Wesselink AK, Wise LA, Hatch EE, Mikkelsen EM, Sørensen HT, Riis AH, McKinnon CJ, Rothman KJ. Seasonal patterns in fecundability in North America and Denmark: a preconception cohort study. Hum Reprod 2020; 35(3): 565-572.

The probability of conceiving may vary by season: couples were most likely to conceive in the late fall and least likely to conceive in the late spring. This association was strongest at southern latitudes.

Wesselink AK, Kirwa K, Hatch EE, Hystad P, Szpiro AA, Kaufman JD, Levy JI, Mikkelsen EM, Quraishi SM, Rothman KJ, Wise LA. Residential proximity to major roads and fecundability in a preconception cohort. Environ Epi. In press.

Women who live close to major roads and who have a higher density of major roads around their home had lower fecundability than women who lived far from major roads.

Wesselink AK, Wang TR, Ketzel M, et al. Air pollution anWesselink, A. K., Wang, T. R., Ketzel, M., Mikkelsen, E. M., Brandt, J., Khan, J., Hertel, O., Laursen, A., Johannesen, B. R., Willis, M. D., Levy, J. I., Rothman, K. J., Sørensen, H. T., Wise, L. A., & Hatch, E. E. (2022). Air pollution and fecundability: Results from a Danish preconception cohort study. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology, 36(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.12832d fecundability: Results from a Danish preconception cohort study. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2022;36(1):57-67.

Among Danish pregnancy planners, we estimated concentrations of several air pollutants at each participant’s residential address. We found that participants with higher levels of particulate matter around their homes took longer to conceive relative to participants with low levels. Other air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone were not strongly related to time-to-pregnancy.