Adverse pregnancy outcome in a petrochemical polluted area in Taiwan

The petrochemical industry is the main source of industrial air pollution i n Taiwan. Reported here are the results from an ongoing study of outdoor ai r pollution and the health of individuals living in a community in close pr oximity to petrochemical industrial complexes. The prevalences of term low birth weight ( LBW) in the petrochemical municipality and control municipal ity were 3.22% and 1.84%, respectively. After controlling for several possi ble confounders ( including maternal age, season, marital status, maternal education, and infant sex), the adjusted odds ratio was 1.767 (1.002-3.116) for term LBW in the petrochemical municipality. Data provide further suppo rt for the hypothesis that air pollution can affect the outcome of pregnanc y.