Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40578112›Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2025

Plant species richness, green spaces, and preterm birth risk in urban areas.

Mengyi Li, Qiping Fan, Yi Sun, Tarik Benmarhnia, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Anqi Jiao, John Molitor, David A Sacks, Jeff M Slezak, Vicki Y Chiu and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environment international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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

13 authors.

Mengyi LiDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Qiping FanDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
Yi SunDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; Institute of Medical Information, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Tarik BenmarhniaScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; Irset Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail, UMR-S 1085, Inserm, University of Rennes, EHESP, Rennes, France.
Jiu-Chiuan ChenDepartments of Population & Public Health Sciences and Neurology, University of Southern, California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Anqi JiaoDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
John MolitorCollege of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
David A SacksDepartment of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Jeff M SlezakDepartment of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Vicki Y ChiuDepartment of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Chantal C AvilaDepartment of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Darios GetahunDepartment of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA; Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Jun WuDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. Electronic address: junwu@hs.uci.edu.

Funding

Environmental and Social Health Determinants of Pregnancy Outcomes Related to COVID-19 PandemicR01ES030353 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI GETAHUN, DARIOS, WU, JUN · 2019 to 2022
$3.2M
NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES030353
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGrowing evidence suggests that urban biodiversity may influence human health, though this relationship remains incompletely understood. While green spaces have shown beneficial effects on birth outcomes, the specific role of plant species richness has not been investigated in relation to preterm birth (PTB, <37 weeks' gestation).

methodsUsing Kaiser Permanente Southern California electronic health records (2015-2021), we analyzed 232,452 births to examine associations between plant species richness and PTB. Plant species richness was assessed at the maternal neighborhood level, defined using circular buffers of 1.5 km around maternal residences.

resultsWe found that increased plant species richness was associated with decreased PTB risk (adjusted odds ratio per interquartile range: 0.959, 95 % CI: 0.941, 0.977). The observed association persisted after further adjustment for multiple green space indicators. The proportions of mediation effects attributable to mean temperature during pregnancy ranged from 7.0 % to 7.8 % across plant species diversity indicators. In the subgroup analysis, plant species diversity demonstrated significantly stronger protective associations against PTB among mothers exposed to higher levels of Ozone, high ambient temperatures, and those gave birth during the pandemic period. Conversely, protective associations were more pronounced among mothers with lower NO

conclusionsOur findings highlight a complex interplay of sociodemographic and environmental factors influencing PTB risks and underscore the critical need for public health interventions that consider the unique attributes of urban green space.

Indexed as

BiodiversityPlantsPremature BirthAdultCaliforniaCitiesFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornPregnancyBiodiversityGreen spaceMaternal exposurePlant species richnessPregnancy outcomePreterm birth

Identifiers

PMID40578112
PMCPMC13135316

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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.