Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight

Many studies link average residential greenspace exposure during pregnancy to birthweight changes, but evidence on critical timing for low birthweight is limited. Furthermore, coarse aggregations of exposure levels throughout pregnancy may obscure complex exposure-response relationships. This case-c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Seulkee Heo, Kelvin C Fong, Ji-Young Son, Michelle L Bell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Environmental Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adf86b
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849238886497124352
author Seulkee Heo
Kelvin C Fong
Ji-Young Son
Michelle L Bell
author_facet Seulkee Heo
Kelvin C Fong
Ji-Young Son
Michelle L Bell
author_sort Seulkee Heo
collection DOAJ
description Many studies link average residential greenspace exposure during pregnancy to birthweight changes, but evidence on critical timing for low birthweight is limited. Furthermore, coarse aggregations of exposure levels throughout pregnancy may obscure complex exposure-response relationships. This case-control study using the birth data ( n = 788,275) in three US states examined the associations between the ZIP code-level weekly enhanced vegetation index (EVI) levels during gestational weeks 0–39 and term low birthweight (TLBW). The logistic regression with distributed lag non-linear functions, adjusted for maternal characteristics and season, estimated odds ratios (OR) of TLBW per interquartile range increase (0.200) in weekly EVI. Week-specific ORs showed an inverted U-shape. Significant ORs were observed in weeks 0–7 and 30–39, ranging from 0.989 (95% CI: 0.978–0.999) to 0.996 (95% CI: 0.992–1.000). Results highlight the importance of higher greenspace exposure in early and late pregnancy for reducing TLBW risk, informing policy and future research.
format Article
id doaj-art-0dd50f90d12f481daebf5f92396bf806
institution Kabale University
issn 1748-9326
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series Environmental Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-0dd50f90d12f481daebf5f92396bf8062025-08-20T04:01:18ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262025-01-0120909402810.1088/1748-9326/adf86bCritical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weightSeulkee Heo0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0786-5002Kelvin C Fong1Ji-Young Son2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6792-6348Michelle L Bell3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3965-1359School of the Environment, Yale University , New Haven, CT 06511, United States of AmericaMilken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University , Washington, DC 20052, United States of AmericaSchool of the Environment, Yale University , New Haven, CT 06511, United States of AmericaSchool of the Environment, Yale University , New Haven, CT 06511, United States of AmericaMany studies link average residential greenspace exposure during pregnancy to birthweight changes, but evidence on critical timing for low birthweight is limited. Furthermore, coarse aggregations of exposure levels throughout pregnancy may obscure complex exposure-response relationships. This case-control study using the birth data ( n = 788,275) in three US states examined the associations between the ZIP code-level weekly enhanced vegetation index (EVI) levels during gestational weeks 0–39 and term low birthweight (TLBW). The logistic regression with distributed lag non-linear functions, adjusted for maternal characteristics and season, estimated odds ratios (OR) of TLBW per interquartile range increase (0.200) in weekly EVI. Week-specific ORs showed an inverted U-shape. Significant ORs were observed in weeks 0–7 and 30–39, ranging from 0.989 (95% CI: 0.978–0.999) to 0.996 (95% CI: 0.992–1.000). Results highlight the importance of higher greenspace exposure in early and late pregnancy for reducing TLBW risk, informing policy and future research.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adf86bgreenspacevegetationlow birth weightpregnancy trimestersinfant
spellingShingle Seulkee Heo
Kelvin C Fong
Ji-Young Son
Michelle L Bell
Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
Environmental Research Letters
greenspace
vegetation
low birth weight
pregnancy trimesters
infant
title Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
title_full Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
title_fullStr Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
title_full_unstemmed Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
title_short Critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
title_sort critical window of gestational greenspace exposure for the risk of low birth weight
topic greenspace
vegetation
low birth weight
pregnancy trimesters
infant
url https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adf86b
work_keys_str_mv AT seulkeeheo criticalwindowofgestationalgreenspaceexposurefortheriskoflowbirthweight
AT kelvincfong criticalwindowofgestationalgreenspaceexposurefortheriskoflowbirthweight
AT jiyoungson criticalwindowofgestationalgreenspaceexposurefortheriskoflowbirthweight
AT michellelbell criticalwindowofgestationalgreenspaceexposurefortheriskoflowbirthweight