Abstract

Background:

Oil and natural gas extraction may produce environmental pollution at levels that affect reproductive health of nearby populations. Available studies have primarily focused on unconventional gas drilling and have not accounted for local population changes that can coincide with drilling activity.

Objective:

Our study sought to examine associations between residential proximity to oil and gas drilling and adverse term birth outcomes using a difference-in-differences study design.

Methods:

We created a retrospective population-based term birth cohort in Texas between 1996 and 2009 composed of mother–infant dyads ($n=\mathrm{2,598,025}$) living $<10\mathrm{km}$ from an oil or gas site. We implemented a difference-in-differences approach to estimate associations between drilling activities and infant health: term birth weight and term small for gestational age (SGA). Using linear and logistic regression, we modeled interactions between births before (unexposed) or during (exposed) drilling activity and residential proximity near (0–1, 1–2, or $2–3\mathrm{km}$) or far ($3–10\mathrm{km}$) from an active or future drilling site, adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics.

Results:

The adjusted mean difference in term birth weight for mothers living 0–1 vs. $3–10\mathrm{km}$ from a current or future drilling site was $–7.3\mathrm{g}$ [95% confidence interval (CI): $–11.6$, $–3.0$] for births during active vs. future drilling. The corresponding adjusted odds ratio for SGA was 1.02 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.06). Negative associations with term birth weight were observed for the 1–2 and $2–3\mathrm{km}$ near groups, and no consistent differences were identified by type of drilling activity. Larger, though imprecise, adverse associations were found for infants born to Hispanic women, women with the lowest educational attainment, and women living in cities.

Conclusions:

Residing near oil and gas drilling sites during pregnancy was associated with a small reduction in term birth weight but not SGA, with some evidence of environmental injustices. Additional work is needed to investigate specific drilling-related exposures that might explain these associations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7678

中文翻译：

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德克萨斯州居住地与石油和天然气钻探的距离与足月出生体重和小于胎龄儿的关系：差异分析

摘要

背景：

石油和天然气开采可能会产生影响附近人口生殖健康的环境污染。现有研究主要集中在非常规天然气钻探上，并没有考虑到可能与钻探活动同时发生的当地人口变化。

客观的：

我们的研究试图使用差异研究设计来检查住宅靠近石油和天然气钻探与不良足月分娩结果之间的关联。

方法：

我们在 1996 年至 2009 年间在德克萨斯州创建了一个回顾性的基于人口的足月出生队列，由母婴二人组组成（$n=\mathrm{2,598,025}$） 活的$<10\mathrm{公里}$从石油或天然气站点。我们实施了差异中的差异方法来估计钻孔活动与婴儿健康之间的关联：足月出生体重和小于胎龄儿的足月 (SGA)。使用线性和逻辑回归，我们模拟了出生之前（未暴露）或期间（暴露）钻探活动与靠近（0-1、1-2 或$2–3\mathrm{公里}$) 或远 ($3–10\mathrm{公里}$) 从一个活跃的或未来的钻井现场，根据个人和社区层面的特征进行调整。

结果：

生活在 0-1 与$3–10\mathrm{公里}$从当前或未来的钻井现场$–7.3\mathrm{G}$[95% 置信区间 (CI)：$–11.6$,$–3.0$] 用于活动期间与未来钻井期间的出生。SGA 的相应调整优势比为 1.02 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.06)。对于 1-2 和$2–3\mathrm{公里}$近组，并且没有根据钻井活动类型确定一致的差异。西班牙裔妇女、受教育程度最低的妇女和生活在城市的妇女所生的婴儿，虽然不精确，但更大的不利关联被发现。

结论：

怀孕期间居住在石油和天然气钻探地点附近与足月出生体重的小幅减少有关，但与 SGA 无关，有一些环境不公正的证据。需要进行额外的工作来调查可能解释这些关联的特定钻井相关暴露。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7678