Residential Proximity to Refineries and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Galveston County in 2022 [ID 915]

INTRODUCTION: The objective was to examine whether proximity to a refinery and refinery density are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in 2022 within Galveston County. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, was conducted using Epic Systems electronic medical record. Using ICD codes, some of the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes were examined such as fetal growth restriction (FGR), gestational hypertension (gHTN), preeclampsia (preE), chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia (cHTN with preE), and gestational diabetes (A1 and A2). After patients were identified, proximity to and density of refineries were identified based upon patient zip code provided upon registering at labor and delivery for delivery. Cofounders such as patient race, proximity to prenatal care, and presence or absence of a food desert were controlled for. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The University of Texas Medical Branch IRB approved this study as minimal-risk research using data collected for routine clinical practice and waived the requirement for informed consent. RESULTS: The number of refineries and proximity to refineries were not associated with increased risk of FGR, gHTN, preE, cHTN with preE, and gestational diabetes mellitus (A). These results are contrary to studies published suggesting associations between refineries and FGR. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: After controlling for confounders such as race and presence of a food desert, proximity to refineries was not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings in other populations throughout the United States.