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Pollution from large cities affects fetal development of the fetus
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Scientists from the University of Granada claim that children born to mothers living in large cities have a higher birth weight than those born to mothers living in rural areas.
The researchers believe this is due to higher exposure to xenoestrogens, a type of environmental pollutant that acts like hormones. This is the first study in Spain to establish a link between xenoestrogens in the placenta of pregnant women and the birth weight of their babies.
In this study, scientists examined two groups of pregnant women. The first group consisted of women living in Madrid, and the second group of women living in Granada. The scientists found biological, demographic and socioeconomic differences between the two groups of women, which were determined by the level of xenoestrogens in the placenta.
The group of expectant mothers living in Madrid had a medium-high income, and most of them (89%) worked in management or education. Pregnant women in the second group lived in rural areas in the province of Granada, had a low educational level (53.4% had no education or only completed primary education), and a large percentage of them were exclusively engaged in household chores (38.3%).
The scientists studied all the parameters of environmental exposure, as well as the correlation between anthropometric, socio-demographic factors, health status, lifestyle, working conditions and xenoestrogens. Researchers from the University of Granada found that the estrogenic effect of placental tissue is directly related to certain characteristics of parents, birth and newborns. The group with a higher estrogenic effect of placental tissue in the alpha fraction were women with a lower body mass index living in Madrid. In addition, this group gave birth to babies with higher birth weight. These results showed that xenoestrogens directly affect the embryonic development of the fetus.
Combined effect of biomarkers
The author of the study, Remedios Prada, states that most studies on the effects of environmental pollutants are aimed at quantifying the presence of chemicals in the human body: "However, there are currently more than 100,000 newly synthesized chemicals that can be found in the human body, interacting with each other and capable of producing combined, synergistic or even antagonistic effects. Therefore, concentrations of substances that are considered insignificant according to toxicological parameters can interact and have a significant cumulative effect. In this study, we approached environmental exposure through the combined effect of biomarkers."
Currently, health authorities from different countries are trying to create systems for monitoring environmental pollutants. Such systems have already been created in the United States - the National Expertise in Public Health and Food, and in Spain - the Project for the Protection of the Environment and Children (INMA).
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