Maternal Residential Proximity to Shale Gas Extraction and Pregnancy Outcomes

孕产妇住宅靠近页岩气开采和怀孕结果

• 批准号: 8680901
• 负责人: Kristina Walker Whitworth
• 金额: $ 7.6万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-22 至 2016-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8680901
• 关键词: Address; Affect; Air; Air Pollution; Archives; Area; Birth; Birth Rate; Birth Weight; Chemical Exposure; Chemicals; Cohort Studies; Communities; County; Data; Data Sources; Death Records; Environment; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Health; Epidemiologic Studies; Epidemiology; Exposure to; Fetal Death; Fetal Movement; Fracture; Future; Gases; Geographic Distribution; Geographic Information Systems; Goals; Hazardous Chemicals; Health; Health Hazards; Health Services; Healthy People 2010; Human Activities; Individual; Infant Mortality; Investigation; Life; Location; Low Birth Weight Infant; Maps; Metric; Mission; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Natural Gas; Outcome; Peer Review; Play; Population; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; Premature Birth; Premature Infant; Production; Productivity; Public Health; Pump; Railroads; Regression Analysis; Reporting; Reproductive Health; Research; Risk; Risk Assessment; Silicon Dioxide; Site; Small for Gestational Age Infant; Texas; Time; Water; Water Pollution; Woman; Work; cohort; epidemiologic data; experience; fetal; hazard; indexing; public health relevance

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Advancements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have allowed access to untapped natural gas reserves in shale formations. Although the health consequences of shale gas extraction activities have not been fully explored, shale gas extraction wells may co-occur with population centers. The Barnett Shale, near the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, is the largest shale play in Texas and the nation's most developed, with over a decade of natural gas production. Although there are overwhelming environmental and public health concerns regarding health effects related to air and water pollution resulting from shale gas extraction drilling activities, few peer-reviewed systematic investigations of adverse health effects among residents in communities near shale gas extraction wells exist. There is epidemiologic evidence that environmental exposures, such as air and water pollution, may increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth and low birth weight (LBW), both major drivers of infant mortality. However, there are no such investigations among women living near drilling activities in Texas. Therefore, we will conduct an epidemiologic study, using a retrospective birth cohort, to examine the relation between maternal residential proximity to shale gas extraction drilling activities and adverse pregnancy outcomes among women in communities near the Barnett Shale. We hypothesize that living near shale gas extraction drilling activities increases women's risk of having poor pregnancy outcomes. The first aim will examine the geographic distribution of shale gas extraction wells in the Barnett shale in relation to Texas water district boundaries. The second aim will examine the associations between maternal residential proximity to shale gas extraction drilling activity in the Barnett shale and pregnancy outcomes (birth weight, preterm birth, small-for-gestational age, and fetal loss) using regression analyses, and adjusted for appropriate covariates. This study will address public concerns regarding potential hazards experienced by communities near shale gas extraction drilling sites. More specifically, the results will inform both the public and the research community concerning potential adverse reproductive health effects in these communities. This investigation will also serve as a starting point and provide direction for future comprehensive investigations of chemical exposures experienced by individuals living in communities near the Barnett Shale. Identifying potential pregnancy risks experienced by women in these communities will inform NIEHS' mission of discovering how the environment affects people and promoting healthier lives.

描述（由申请人提供）：水平钻井和水力压裂（水力压裂）技术的进步使得能够获取页岩地层中未开发的天然气储量。尽管页岩气开采活动对健康的影响尚未得到充分探讨，但页岩气开采井可能与人口中心同时存在。巴尼特页岩位于达拉斯/沃斯堡 (DFW) 大都市附近，是德克萨斯州最大的页岩区，也是全国最发达的页岩区，拥有十多年的天然气生产经验。尽管页岩气开采钻探活动造成的空气和水污染对健康影响存在巨大的环境和公共卫生问题，但对页岩气开采井附近社区居民的不利健康影响进行同行评审的系统调查却很少。有流行病学证据表明，空气和水污染等环境暴露可能会增加不良妊娠结局的风险，包括早产和低出生体重（LBW），这两者都是婴儿死亡率的主要驱动因素。然而，在德克萨斯州居住在钻探活动附近的妇女中没有进行此类调查。因此，我们将利用回顾性出生队列进行流行病学研究，以研究巴尼特页岩附近社区妇女居住地靠近页岩气开采钻探活动与不良妊娠结局之间的关系。我们假设居住在页岩气开采钻探活动附近会增加女性妊娠结局不佳的风险。第一个目标是研究巴尼特页岩中页岩气开采井相对于德克萨斯州水域边界的地理分布。第二个目标将使用回归分析来检查孕产妇居住地靠近巴尼特页岩页岩气开采钻探活动与妊娠结局（出生体重、早产、小于胎龄和胎儿丢失）之间的关联，并根据适当的协变量进行调整。这项研究将解决公众对页岩气开采钻探地点附近社区所经历的潜在危险的担忧。更具体地说，研究结果将告知公众和研究界有关这些社区生殖健康潜在不利影响的信息。这项调查还将作为一个起点，为未来对生活在巴尼特页岩附近社区的个人所经历的化学暴露进行全面调查提供方向。识别这些社区中女性经历的潜在怀孕风险将为 NIEHS 的使命提供信息，即发现环境如何影响人们并促进更健康的生活。