A peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

A peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Maternal exposure to air pollution has been related to fetal growth in a number of recent scientific studies. The objective of this study was to assess the association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and anthropometric measures at birth in a cohort in Valencia, Spain.

A peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

We assessed the effect of three different indices of urban built environment on allergic and respiratory conditions.This study involved 2472 children participating in the ongoing INMA birth cohort located in two bio-geographic regions (Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean) in Spain. Residential surrounding built environment was characterised as 1) residential surrounding greenness based on satellite-derived normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), 2) residential proximity to green spaces and 3) residential surrounding greyness based on urban land use patterns. Information on wheezing, bronchitis, asthma and allergic rhinitis up to age 4 years was obtained from parent-completed questionnaires. Logistic regression and generalised estimating equation modelling were performed.Among children from the Euro-Siberian region, higher residential surrounding greenness and higher proximity to green spaces were negatively associated with wheezing. In the Mediterranean region, higher residential proximity to green spaces was associated with a reduced risk for bronchitis. A higher amount of residential surrounding greyness was found to increase the risk for bronchitis in this region.Associations between indices of urban residential greenness and greyness with respiratory diseases differ by region. The pathways underlying these associations require further exploration.