Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

9-2016

Abstract

Incense burning for rituals or religious purposes is an important tradition in many countries. However, incense smoke contains particulate matter and gas products such as carbon monoxide, sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, which are potentially harmful to health. We analyzed the relationship between prenatal incense burning and birth weight and head circumference at birth using the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study. We performed multivariate regression analysis on a sample of 15,773 Taiwanese babies born in 2005 and controlled extensively for factors that may be correlated with incense burning and birth outcomes. Prenatal incense burning environment was associated with lower birth weight and smaller head circumference at birth, especially for boys and especially for the lower quantiles of the distributions of birth outcomes.

Discipline

Asian Studies | Health Economics | Public Economics

Research Areas

Applied Microeconomics

Publication

Environmental Health Perspectives

Volume

124

Issue

9

First Page

1487

Last Page

1492

ISSN

0091-6765

Identifier

10.1289/ehp.1509922

Publisher

Public Health Services

Embargo Period

11-30-2015

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509922

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