Radon exposure may up risk of gestational diabetes

Pregnant women with increased exposure to radon appear to have a higher likelihood of gestational diabetes, according to a study.

For the study, researchers used data from the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be (nuMoM2b) cohort, which involved nulliparous pregnant participants from eight clinical centres across US.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s short- and long-term indoor home radon assessments provided data for county-level radon levels. Radon exposure was categorized as follows: <1, 1 to <2, and ≥2 pCi/L. Participants were grouped according to joint classifications of radon level (<2 and ≥2 pCi/L) with smoking status (never smokers and ever smokers) and radon level with PM_2.5 level (above or below the median).

A total of 9,107 participants (mean age 27.0 years, 61.1 percent non-Hispanic White, 41.6 percent tobacco ever users) were included in the analysis. Of these, 382 (4.2 percent) participants received a diagnosis of gestational diabetes based on glucose tolerance testing and information from medical records. The mean county-level radon concentration was 1.6 pCi/L

In multivariable logistic regression models, the odds of developing gestational diabetes were 37-percent higher among individuals living in counties with the highest vs lowest radon concentration (≥2 vs <1 pCi/L; odds ratio [OR], 1.37, 95 percent concentration [CI], 1.02–1.84). The estimates remained largely unchanged in an analysis accounting for PM_2.5 (OR, 1.36, 95 percent CI, 1.00–1.86).

Additional joint analysis indicated that the odds of gestational diabetes were also heightened among participants who had ever smoked and living in counties with a higher (≥2 pCi/L) radon level (OR, 2.09, 95 percent CI, 1.41–3.11) and among those living in counties with higher radon and PM_2.5 levels (OR, 1.93, 95 percent CI, 1.31–2.83). However, no statistically significant interactions were seen.

More studies are needed to validate the findings and shed light on the underlying mechanisms, especially with individual-level residential radon exposure assessment, according to the researchers.