The impact of air pollution in the Southern Bohemia Region on fetuses and newborns.

Air pollution with increased concentrations of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs, represented by benzo[a]pyrene, B[a]P) affect fetal development, reduce birth weights (LBW) of newborns, and increases intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). The Southern Bohemia Region is believed to be one of the least air polluted regions in the Czech Republic. Monitoring air pollution in the city of České Budějovice from 2011-2015, PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 µm) decreased from 20.3 ± 14.5 µg/m3 to 14.3 ± 8.6 µg/m3, but concentrations of B[a]P did not change between the years 2007-2015: 1.5 ± 0.6 ng/m3 vs. 1.4 ± 1.4 ng/m3. Higher B[a]P concentrations the winter induce genetic damage in newborns, increase frequency of micronuclei (chromosomal aberrations), deregulate genes for immunity in umbilical cord blood, and increase incidence of IUGR and LBW in newborns.