The association of early-life exposure to ambient PM2.5 and later-childhood height-for-age in India: an observational study

Table 2 Association of district-level PM_2.5 (per 100 μg/m³) in month of birth with child height-for-age z-score

Note: All columns present ordinary least squares fixed effects regressions with the child’s height-for-age z-score as the dependent variable. FE fixed effect, PSU primary sampling unit (urban block or rural village). Standard errors clustered by 640 districts in parentheses. + p < 0.10; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01. In column 8, the spline variable is zero below the median PM_2.5 and is identical to PM_2.5 above the median. Sample sizes vary because some fixed effects categories lack within-category variation in the independent variable (resulting in that category being dropped), and because not all children’s mothers’ heights were measured. Birth characteristics include mother’s age at birth, birth order, whether the delivery occurred in a hospital or health facility, and whether it was a multiple birth. Mother characteristics include whether she smokes, the total number of children born to her by the time of the survey, and her relationship to the household head. Household-level characteristics include caste, religion, solid fuel use, open defecation, and drinking water source

ISSN: 1476-069X