Maternal Residential Proximity to Shale Gas Extraction and Pregnancy Outcomes

描述（由申请人提供）：水平钻井和水力压裂（fracking）技术的进步使得人们可以开采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共存。Barnett页岩位于达拉斯/沃斯堡（DFW）大都市区附近，是德克萨斯州最大的页岩区，也是美国最发达的页岩区，拥有超过十年的天然气产量。尽管页岩气开采钻井活动造成的空气和水污染对健康的影响引起了压倒性的环境和公共卫生关注，但对页岩气开采井附近社区居民的不利健康影响进行的同行评议的系统调查很少。有流行病学证据表明，空气和水污染等环境暴露可能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井活动附近的妇女中没有这样的调查。因此，我们将进行一项流行病学研究，使用回顾性出生队列，以检查Barnett页岩附近社区妇女的页岩气开采钻井活动与不良妊娠结局之间的关系。我们假设，住在页岩气开采钻井活动附近会增加女性怀孕结果不佳的风险。第一个目标是研究Barnett页岩中页岩气采气井的地理分布与德克萨斯州水区边界的关系。第二个目标是使用回归分析，并根据适当的协变量进行调整，研究Barnett页岩中页岩气开采活动的产妇居住地与妊娠结局（出生体重、早产、小胎龄和胎儿丢失）之间的关系。这项研究将解决公众对页岩气开采钻探地点附近社区所面临的潜在危害的担忧。更具体地说，调查结果将使公众和研究界了解这些社区可能对生殖健康产生的不利影响。这项调查也将作为起点，并为未来全面调查生活在巴内特页岩附近社区的个人所经历的化学暴露提供方向。确定这些社区妇女面临的潜在怀孕风险将有助于NIEHS发现环境如何影响人们并促进更健康生活的使命。

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.