TOP 52 - Association Between Household Incense Burning and the Risk of Small for Gestational Age Infants based on the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study

Publication Number: 4756.TOP 52

Li-Fan Pai, National Defense Medical University, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China); Yi-Li Hung, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China); Chung-Min M. Shen, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China); Chih-Fu CHIH. Wei, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun Lin Branch, Yunlin County, Yunlin, Taiwan (Republic of China); Pau-Chung Chen, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China); Wu-Shiun Hsieh, Department of Pediatrics, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China)

Background: In East Asia, incense burning for religious and ceremonial purposes is a deeply rooted tradition. However, incense combustion emits harmful pollutants that may adversely affect both environmental quality and human health, raising growing public health concerns. Previous studies had shown that maternal exposure to incense burning may contribute to pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. In addition, prenatal exposure to incense smoke was linked to lower birth weight and smaller head circumference in term newborn infants were also suggested.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between household incense burning during pregnancy and the risk of delivering a small for gestational age (SGA) infant, stratified by term and preterm births.

Design/Methods: We recruited 18,666 mother-infant pairs (male: female = 9,817: 8,849) from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study and conducted a follow-up evaluation six months after birth. The participants were categorized into three groups according to the frequency of household incense burning: no exposure (n = 7,242), occasional exposure (n = 4,413), and daily exposure (n = 7,011). Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were employed in stratified analyses and sensitivity analysis to assess associations.

Table1. Demographic conditions in the study population, stratified by incense burning exposure status
Mothers in households without incense burning generally had higher educational attainment, older maternal age at pregnancy, and higher household income

Table2. Birth outcomes in the study population , stratified by incense burning exposure status
The prevalence of SGA also increased with incense exposure, rising from 8.1% in the no exposure group to 9.4% in the occasional group, and reaching 10.0% in the daily group.

Table3 Association between incense burning, small for gestational age and , birth size.
For term infants, exposure to any incense burning showed a statistically significant negative association with both birth weight and head circumference.