The Shared Pathoetiological Effects of Particulate Air Pollution and the Social Environment on Fetal-Placental Development

Figure 3

Proposed pathways of particulate air pollution contributing to oxidative stress and inflammation leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Exposure to PM and its associated constituents of transition metals, PAHs, and other organic molecules affect the cardiovascular and metabolic systems which are highly active throughout pregnancy. For example, detoxification of PAHs and other organic toxins activate AhR signalling resulting in additional oxidative stress if antioxidant defenses are limited or impaired [55, 79, 98, 108, 109, 199].