A Texas A&M study found that these inexpensive, convenient devices can measure exposure to a class of chemicals that can be harmful during pregnancy.
A study by researchers at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health shows that inexpensive and convenient devices such as silicone wristbands can be used to yield quantitative air quality data, which is particularly appealing for periods of susceptibility such as pregnancy.
The research team found that the wristbands, when used as passive samplers, have the ability to bind smaller molecular weight semi-volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil and gasoline and are produced when coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage and tobacco are burned — in a similar pattern as active sampling.
Published recently in Nature’s Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, the study focused on pregnant women in Hidalgo County in South Texas. This particular area of Texas was selected because of the heightened prevalence of childhood asthma in the region, as well as a higher prematurity rate (14.8 percent) compared to the rest of the state (12.9 percent).
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