Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31955080›Full record

ArticleThe Science of the total environment2020

Associations between prenatal sunshine exposure and birth outcomes in China.

Xin Zhang, Yixuan Wang, Xi Chen, Xun Zhang

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Science of the total environment, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Vitamin D and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR).International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  2. Observational
  3. Article
  4. Association between extreme heat and hospital admissions for cataract patients in Hefei, China.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Xin ZhangSchool of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, China.
Yixuan WangSchool of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, China.
Xi ChenDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, United States of America; Department of Economics, Yale University, United States of America.
Xun ZhangSchool of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, China; Shanghai Finance Institute, China. Electronic address: zhangxun@bnu.edu.cn.
Beijing Normal University · CN

Funding

Yale Study Support Suite (YES3): Dashboard and Web Portal Software Supporting Research Workflow through integrated, customizable REDCap External ModulesP30AG021342 · NIA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Denise Esserman · 2002 to 2026
$37.9M
Social Pension, Health, and Healthy AgingK01AG053408 · NIA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI CHEN, XI · 2018 to 2021
$514k
Old-Age Pension, Household Behavior Change and the Well-being of the EderlyR03AG048920 · NIA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI CHEN, XI · 2014 to 2015
$328k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG053408NIA NIH HHS P30 AG021342NIA NIH HHS R03 AG048920
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This paper is one of the first to examine the associations between prenatal sunshine exposure and birth outcomes, specifically the incidence of low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA), based on a nationally representative birth record dataset in China. During the sample period in the 1990s, migration was limited in rural China, allowing us to address the identification challenges, like residential sorting and avoidance behaviors. We found a nonlinear relationship between the length of sunlight and birth outcomes. In particular, prenatal exposure to increasing sunshine was associated with a reduction in the incidence of LBW and SGA, especially in the second trimester during pregnancy. This finding was consistent with the clinical evidence suggesting positive effects of sunshine on birth outcomes via obtaining vitamin D or relieving maternal stress.

Indexed as

Infant, Low Birth WeightPremature BirthSunlightBirth WeightChinaFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornInfant, Small for Gestational AgeMalePregnancyChinaLow birth weightSmall for gestational ageSunshine duration

Identifiers

PMID31955080
PMCPMC7047502
OpenAlexW2999052761

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.