Chromosome damage

A new study of 60 newborns in New York City has revealed that exposure of expectant mothers to combustion-related urban air pollution may alter the structure of babies' chromosomes while in the womb.

While previous experiments have linked such genetic alterations to an increased risk of leukemia and other cancers, much larger studies would be required to determine the precise increase in risk as these children reach adulthood.

The air pollutants considered in the new study include emissions from cars, trucks, bus engines, residential heating, power generation and tobacco smoking. These pollutants can cross the placenta and reach the foetus.

The study was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and other private foundations. The research was conducted by scientists from the Columbia University Center for Children's Environmental Health.

"This is the first study to show that environmental exposures to specific combustion pollutants during pregnancy can result in chromosomal abnormalities in fetal tissues," said Kenneth Olden, PhD, the director of NIEHS.