Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 European birth cohorts
Journal article
Torres Toda, Maria, Avraam, Demetris, James Cadman, Timothy, Fossati, Serena, de Castro, Montserrat, Dedele, Audrius, Donovan, Geoffrey, Elhakeem, Ahmed, Estarlich, Marisa, Fernandes, Amanda, Gonçalves, Romy, Grazuleviciene, Regina, Harris, Jennifer R., Harskamp-van Ginkel, Margreet W., Heude, Barbara, Ibarluzea, Jesús, Iñiguez, Carmen, Wv Jaddoe, Vincent, Lawlor, Deborah, ... Dadvand, Payam. (2022). Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 European birth cohorts. Environment International. 170, p. Article 107648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648
Authors | Torres Toda, Maria, Avraam, Demetris, James Cadman, Timothy, Fossati, Serena, de Castro, Montserrat, Dedele, Audrius, Donovan, Geoffrey, Elhakeem, Ahmed, Estarlich, Marisa, Fernandes, Amanda, Gonçalves, Romy, Grazuleviciene, Regina, Harris, Jennifer R., Harskamp-van Ginkel, Margreet W., Heude, Barbara, Ibarluzea, Jesús, Iñiguez, Carmen, Wv Jaddoe, Vincent, Lawlor, Deborah, Lertxundi, Aitana, Lepeule, Johanna, McEachan, Rosemary, Moirano, Giovenale, Lt Nader, Johanna, Nybo Andersen, Anne-Marie, Pedersen, Marie, Pizzi, Costanza, Roumeliotaki, Theano, Santos, Susana, Sunyer, Jordi, Yang, Tiffany, Vafeiadi, Marina, Gm Vrijkotte, Tanja, Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark, Vrijheid, Martine, Foraster, Maria and Dadvand, Payam |
---|---|
Abstract | Research suggests that maternal exposure to natural environments (i.e., green and blue spaces) promotes healthy fetal growth. However, the available evidence is heterogeneous across regions, with very few studies on the effects of blue spaces. This study evaluated associations between maternal exposure to natural environments and birth outcomes in 11 birth cohorts across nine European countries. This study, part of the LifeCycle project, was based on a total sample size of 69,683 newborns with harmonised data. For each participant, we calculated seven indicators of residential exposure to natural environments: surrounding greenspace in 100m, 300m, and 500m using Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) buffers, distance to the nearest green space, accessibility to green space, distance to the nearest blue space, and accessibility to blue space. Measures of birth weight and small for gestational age (SGA) were extracted from hospital records. We used pooled linear and logistic regression models to estimate associations between exposure to the natural environment and birth outcomes, controlling for the relevant covariates. We evaluated the potential effect modification by socioeconomic status (SES) and region of Europe and the influence of ambient air pollution on the associations. In the pooled analyses, residential surrounding greenspace in 100m, 300m, and 500m buffer was associated with increased birth weight and lower odds for SGA. Higher residential distance to green space was associated with lower birth weight and higher odds for SGA. We observed close to null associations for accessibility to green space and exposure to blue space. We found stronger estimated magnitudes for those participants with lower educational levels, from more deprived areas, and living in the northern European region. Our associations did not change notably after adjustment for air pollution. These findings may support implementing policies to promote natural environments in our cities, starting in more deprived areas. |
Keywords | greenness; parks; nature; prenatal; pregnancy; fetal growth |
Year | 2022 |
Journal | Environment International |
Journal citation | 170, p. Article 107648 |
Publisher | Elsevier Ltd |
ISSN | 0160-4120 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85142494708 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 1-10 |
Funder | European Research Council (ERC) |
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) | |
Generalitat de Catalunya | |
Medtronic Ltd | |
Roche Diagnostics | |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 19 Nov 2022 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 18 Nov 2022 |
Deposited | 31 Jan 2023 |
Grant ID | LIFECYCLE, grant agreement No 733206 |
EUCAN-Connect grant agreement No 824989 | |
CEX2018-000806-S |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8yq2x/exposure-to-natural-environments-during-pregnancy-and-birth-outcomes-in-11-european-birth-cohorts
Download files
Publisher's version
OA_Torres_Toda_2022_Exposure_to_natural_environments_during_pregnancy.pdf | |
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
96
total views43
total downloads2
views this month2
downloads this month