Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts

Maria Torres Toda; Demetris Avraam; Timothy James Cadman; Serena Fossati; Montserrat de Castro; Audrius Dedele; Geoffrey Donovan; Ahmed Elhakeem; Marisa Estarlich; Amanda Fernandes; Romy Gonçalves; Regina Grazuleviciene; Jennifer R. Harris; Margreet W. Harskamp-van Ginkel; Barbara Heude; Jesús Ibarluzea; Carmen Iñiguez; Vincent WV Jaddoe; Deborah Lawlor; Aitana Lertxundi; Johanna Lepeule; Rosemary McEachan; Giovenale Moirano; Johanna LT Nader; Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen; Marie Pedersen; Costanza Pizzi; Theano Roumeliotaki; Susana Santos; Jordi Sunyer; Tiffany Yang; Marina Vafeiadi; Tanja GM Vrijkotte; Mark Nieuwenhuijsen; Martine Vrijheid; Maria Foraster; Payam Dadvand

doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648

Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts

Maria Torres Toda, Demetris Avraam, Timothy James Cadman, Serena Fossati, Montserrat de Castro, Audrius Dedele, Geoffrey Donovan, Ahmed Elhakeem, Marisa Estarlich, Amanda Fernandes, Romy Gonçalves, Regina Grazuleviciene, Jennifer R. Harris, Margreet W. Harskamp-van Ginkel, Barbara Heude, Jesús Ibarluzea, Carmen Iñiguez, Vincent WV Jaddoe, Deborah Lawlor, Aitana LertxundiJohanna Lepeule, Rosemary McEachan, Giovenale Moirano, Johanna LT Nader, Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen, Marie Pedersen, Costanza Pizzi, Theano Roumeliotaki, Susana Santos, Jordi Sunyer, Tiffany Yang, Marina Vafeiadi, Tanja GM Vrijkotte, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Martine Vrijheid, Maria Foraster, Payam Dadvand

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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.

Original language	English
Article number	107648
Journal	Environment International
Volume	170
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2022

Keywords

Fetal growth.
Greenness
Nature
Parks
Pregnancy
Prenatal

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Torres Toda, M., Avraam, D., James Cadman, T., Fossati, S., de Castro, M., Dedele, A., Donovan, G., Elhakeem, A., Estarlich, M., Fernandes, A., Gonçalves, R., Grazuleviciene, R., Harris, J. R., Harskamp-van Ginkel, M. W., Heude, B., Ibarluzea, J., Iñiguez, C., WV Jaddoe, V., Lawlor, D., ... Dadvand, P. (2022). Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts. Environment International, 170, [107648]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648

@article{7e1eec3b6d7f4bfca9bea7038bf2e339,

title = "Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts",

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 = "Fetal growth., Greenness, Nature, Parks, Pregnancy, Prenatal",

author = "{Torres Toda}, Maria and Demetris Avraam and {James Cadman}, Timothy and Serena Fossati and {de Castro}, Montserrat and Audrius Dedele and Geoffrey Donovan and Ahmed Elhakeem and Marisa Estarlich and Amanda Fernandes and Romy Gon{\c c}alves and Regina Grazuleviciene and Harris, {Jennifer R.} and {Harskamp-van Ginkel}, {Margreet W.} and Barbara Heude and Jes{\'u}s Ibarluzea and Carmen I{\~n}iguez and {WV Jaddoe}, Vincent and Deborah Lawlor and Aitana Lertxundi and Johanna Lepeule and Rosemary McEachan and Giovenale Moirano and {LT Nader}, Johanna and {Nybo Andersen}, Anne-Marie and Marie Pedersen and Costanza Pizzi and Theano Roumeliotaki and Susana Santos and Jordi Sunyer and Tiffany Yang and Marina Vafeiadi and {GM Vrijkotte}, Tanja and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen and Martine Vrijheid and Maria Foraster and Payam Dadvand",

note = "Funding Information: This project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, grant agreement No 733206; EUCAN-Connect grant agreement No 824989). ISGlobal acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and State Research Agency through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. For more information of each cohort individual funding, see Supplementary Material s, Information S2. Funding Information: We would like to thanks to all the mothers, fathers, and children for their generous contribution as participants in the cohorts that are part of the LifeCycle project. For more information of each cohort individual acknowledgment, see Supplementary Materials, Information S1. This project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, grant agreement No 733206; EUCAN-Connect grant agreement No 824989). ISGlobal acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and State Research Agency through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. For more information of each cohort individual funding, see Supplementary Materials, Information S2. DAL has received support from Medtronic Ltd and Roche Diagnostics for research unrelated to this study. All the other authors declare that they have no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

day = "1",

doi = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648",

language = "English",

volume = "170",

journal = "Environment international",

issn = "0160-4120",

publisher = "Elsevier Limited",

}

Torres Toda, M, Avraam, D, James Cadman, T, Fossati, S, de Castro, M, Dedele, A, Donovan, G, Elhakeem, A, Estarlich, M, Fernandes, A, Gonçalves, R, Grazuleviciene, R, Harris, JR, Harskamp-van Ginkel, MW, Heude, B, Ibarluzea, J, Iñiguez, C, WV Jaddoe, V, Lawlor, D, Lertxundi, A, Lepeule, J, McEachan, R, Moirano, G, LT Nader, J, Nybo Andersen, A-M, Pedersen, M, Pizzi, C, Roumeliotaki, T, Santos, S, Sunyer, J, Yang, T, Vafeiadi, M, GM Vrijkotte, T, Nieuwenhuijsen, M, Vrijheid, M, Foraster, M & Dadvand, P 2022, 'Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts', Environment International, vol. 170, 107648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648

TY - JOUR

T1 - Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts

AU - Torres Toda, Maria

AU - Avraam, Demetris

AU - James Cadman, Timothy

AU - Fossati, Serena

AU - de Castro, Montserrat

AU - Dedele, Audrius

AU - Donovan, Geoffrey

AU - Elhakeem, Ahmed

AU - Estarlich, Marisa

AU - Fernandes, Amanda

AU - Gonçalves, Romy

AU - Grazuleviciene, Regina

AU - Harris, Jennifer R.

AU - Harskamp-van Ginkel, Margreet W.

AU - Heude, Barbara

AU - Ibarluzea, Jesús

AU - Iñiguez, Carmen

AU - WV Jaddoe, Vincent

AU - Lawlor, Deborah

AU - Lertxundi, Aitana

AU - Lepeule, Johanna

AU - McEachan, Rosemary

AU - Moirano, Giovenale

AU - LT Nader, Johanna

AU - Nybo Andersen, Anne-Marie

AU - Pedersen, Marie

AU - Pizzi, Costanza

AU - Roumeliotaki, Theano

AU - Santos, Susana

AU - Sunyer, Jordi

AU - Yang, Tiffany

AU - Vafeiadi, Marina

AU - GM Vrijkotte, Tanja

AU - Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

AU - Vrijheid, Martine

AU - Foraster, Maria

AU - Dadvand, Payam

N1 - Funding Information: This project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, grant agreement No 733206; EUCAN-Connect grant agreement No 824989). ISGlobal acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and State Research Agency through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. For more information of each cohort individual funding, see Supplementary Material s, Information S2. Funding Information: We would like to thanks to all the mothers, fathers, and children for their generous contribution as participants in the cohorts that are part of the LifeCycle project. For more information of each cohort individual acknowledgment, see Supplementary Materials, Information S1. This project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, grant agreement No 733206; EUCAN-Connect grant agreement No 824989). ISGlobal acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and State Research Agency through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program. For more information of each cohort individual funding, see Supplementary Materials, Information S2. DAL has received support from Medtronic Ltd and Roche Diagnostics for research unrelated to this study. All the other authors declare that they have no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: © 2022

PY - 2022/12/1

Y1 - 2022/12/1

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Fetal growth.

KW - Greenness

KW - Nature

KW - Parks

KW - Pregnancy

KW - Prenatal

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142494708&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648

DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107648

M3 - Article

C2 - 36436464

SN - 0160-4120

VL - 170

JO - Environment international

JF - Environment international

M1 - 107648

ER -

Exposure to natural environments during pregnancy and birth outcomes in 11 european birth cohorts

Abstract

Keywords

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