Nulliparous, pregnant ever-smokers living in counties with higher radon and those living in counties with higher radon and PM2.5 levels have higher odds of GDM
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Jan. 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) — In nulliparous pregnant individuals, higher radon exposure is associated with greater odds of gestational diabetes (GD), according to a study published online Jan. 10 in JAMA Network Open.
Yijia Zhang, Ph.D., from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues examined the association of county-level radon exposure with GD risk in a multicenter, population-based cohort study using data from the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be cohort. Data were included for 9,107 participants; 41.6 percent had ever used tobacco.
The researchers found that the mean county-level radon concentration was 1.6 pCi/L; 4.2 percent of participants had GD recorded. The odds of developing GD were higher for individuals living in counties with the highest radon level (≥2 pCi/L) compared with those living in counties with the lowest radon level (<1 pCi/L), after adjustment for potential confounders (odds ratio, 1.37; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.41 to 3.11); the odds ratio was attenuated to 1.36 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.86) after additional adjustment for fine particulate matter air pollutants (PM2.5). Ever smokers living in counties with a higher (≥2 pCi/L) radon level and those living in counties with higher radon and PM2.5 levels had elevated odds of GD (odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 2.09 [1.41 to 3.11] and 1.93 [1.31 to 2.83], respectively), although there were no statistically significant interactions.
“This study provides a foundation for future research focusing on individual-level indoor radon measurement to confirm the findings and explore the underlying biological mechanisms,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the health care industry.
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