First name
Zachary
Middle name
F
Last name
Meisel

Title

Association between Low Urban Neighborhood Greenness and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.

Year of Publication

2021

Date Published

2021 Aug 27

ISSN Number

1098-8785

Abstract

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong> Urban neighborhood greenness is associated with greater cardiovascular health in the general population, and with better pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Hypertension in pregnancy is a leading cause of maternal mortality and long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in women. We sought to examine the association between greenness and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.</p>

<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong> This study is a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of 1,943 women who received prenatal care from December 2013 to December 2016 at a single, urban, and tertiary academic medical center in Philadelphia, PA. Greenness measure was quantified via residential tree canopy cover within circumferential buffers of 100- and 500-meter radii around participants' homes. Associations between greenness and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (defined as gestational hypertension or preeclampsia) were estimated by using multilevel logistic regression accounting for maternal sociodemographic information (race-ethnicity, insurance status, and age) medical history (diabetes, body mass index, smoking history, and parity), neighborhood deprivation index, and including 1,225 Philadelphia residents for whom key exposure and outcome data were available.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong> At baseline, the participants' mean (SD) age was 27.5 (5.9) years, (range: 14-44 years). The majority of participants were non-Hispanic Black (857, 70.2%). Participants with less residential tree canopy cover were significantly more likely to have hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy among participants with less than 10% compared with those with greater than 30% tree canopy cover was 2.14 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-4.15) within 100-meter buffer.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong> In our cohort, greenness was associated with lower hypertensive disorders of pregnancy odds. Our findings add to evidence that greenness may confer health benefits and warrant further investigations in identifying whether there is a causal pathway through which greenness may be protective against hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.</p>

<p><strong>KEY POINTS: </strong>· Low residential tree canopy is associated with increased risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. · 100-meter buffers are most sensitive in identifying associations between tree canopy and HDP risk. · The role of greenness against hypertensive disorders of pregnancy should be further studied experimentally.</p>

DOI

10.1055/s-0041-1733786

Alternate Title

Am J Perinatol

PMID

34450673

Title

Urban residential tree canopy and perceived stress among pregnant women.

Year of Publication

2021

Number of Pages

111620

Date Published

2021 Jul 01

ISSN Number

1096-0953

Abstract

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>To examine the association of urban residential tree canopy cover with perceived stress in a cohort of pregnant women in Philadelphia, PA, and explore whether this association differed among participants with a history of anxiety and depression.</p>

<p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>We performed a secondary analysis of 1294 participants of the Motherhood &amp; Microbiome (M&amp;M) pregnancy cohort who lived in Philadelphia, with first visit perceived stress (Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-14), and key covariate data. Tree canopy cover was calculated as percent cover within 100 and 500&nbsp;m radii buffers around participants' homes. We performed multilevel mixed effects linear regression models, with perceived stress as the dependent variable. The main independent variable was tree canopy coverage. Individual-level covariates included season of last menstrual period, history of depression or anxiety, race/ethnicity, insurance, parity, and age. Census tract neighborhood deprivation index was used to account for area-level socioeconomic confounding variables. We also examined whether a history of anxiety or depression, modified the association between tree canopy coverage and perceived stress.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Most participants were non-Hispanic Black (70.6%, n&nbsp;=&nbsp;913), on Medicaid or uninsured (60.4%, n&nbsp;=&nbsp;781), and 15.8% (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;204) of participants had a prior history of depression or anxiety. We did not detect associations between tree canopy coverage and perceived stress overall. However, we detected effect modification; among participants with a history of depression or anxiety, each standard deviation increase in tree canopy cover was associated with lower PSS-14 in 100&nbsp;m buffers (β -1.0, 95% CI -1.8, -0.2), but not among participants with no histories of depression or anxiety (β 0.2, 95% CI -0.3, 0.7) (interaction P&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.007). Results were similar in directionality but not statistically significant within 500&nbsp;m buffers.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>Residential tree canopy coverage was associated with reduced perceived stress among urban-dwelling pregnant women with history of anxiety or depression. Future studies of the effects of greenness and other stress-reducing efforts should consider underlying mental health conditions as effect modifiers.</p>

DOI

10.1016/j.envres.2021.111620

Alternate Title

Environ Res

PMID

34216611

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