Exploring the association between air pollution and spontaneous abortion through systematic review and bibliometric analysis

Babu, Priyadharshini and Verma, Vaishali and Khadanga, Swapna Sarika and Yadav, Shailendra Kumar and Kumar, Dudam Bharath and Gupta, Ayushi (2024) Exploring the association between air pollution and spontaneous abortion through systematic review and bibliometric analysis. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health.

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Abstract

Air pollution has been recognized as a significant environmental risk factor with potentially adverse effects on women’s reproductive health. This study presents the existing literature on air pollution exposure and its link to spontaneous abortion (SAB) utilizing a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis (BA). Firstly, SLR was employed to collect relevant articles based on specified inclusion/exclusion criteria and formulated research questions. Secondly, BA was used to map and assess research trends, current knowledge, and structure using network analysis constructed on citation, co-citation, co-occurrence, and collaboration patterns among articles, authors, keywords, and institutions, respectively. Thematic analysis identified emerging and crucial research areas. This review encompasses 45 articles investigating short- and long-term exposure to single pollutants (n = 18) and multi-air pollutants (n = 27). Particulate matter–PM 2.5 (n = 12 of 16) and PM10 (n = 10 of 14), and NO2 (n = 8 of 14) demonstrated the most consistent associations with SAB followed by SO2 (n = 5 of 9) and O 3 (n = 3 of 6), while CO (n = 4 of 6), PAH (n = 1 of 2), BC, and heavy metal (n = 1 of 1 each) showed inconsistent associations. This study reports considerable heterogeneity between studies concerning study design, air pollution exposure assessment, and outcome assessment. Studies of this nature present immense challenges and demand a standard protocol and a multi-disciplinary strategy involving scientists, epidemiologists, governments, and policymakers. Finally, systematic mapping and analysis performed in this study provide valuable insights into future research paths, offering a roadmap for further investigation.

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Babu, Priyadharshini and Verma, Vaishali and Khadanga, Swapna Sarika and Yadav, Shailendra Kumar and Kumar, Dudam Bharath and Gupta, Ayushi

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