Increased Residential Greenness improves Maternal Vitamin D Deficiency in Areas with air pollution: Study
A recent study published in Environmental Pollution investigated the relationship between residential greenness and maternal vitamin D deficiency (VDD) during pregnancy. The findings indicate that higher levels of surrounding greenness are associated with a reduced risk of Vitamin D Deficiency in expectant mothers.
This inverse relationship is particularly significant in areas with elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PMâ‚‚.â‚…). The study also suggests that the beneficial impact of greenness on vitamin D status may be partially mediated by a reduction in PMâ‚‚.â‚… exposure.
Adequate vitamin D is essential for the health of both the mother and foetus, and it can be influenced by environmental factors. However, research on the associations between greenness exposure and vitamin D concentrations during pregnancy is limited.
This retrospective birth cohort study, conducted from 2014 to 2018, assessed the greenness of residences using the satellite-derived normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations were categorised as non-deficient (≥50 nmol/L) or deficient (<50 nmol/L). Multiple log-binomial regression models were used to estimate the association of NDVI with serum 25(OH)D concentrations and vitamin D deficiency (VDD). Subgroup and mediation analyses were conducted to estimate the association of ambient particulate matter (PM) on the association between NDVI and VDD. A total of 64,663 pregnant women with a mean maternal age of 30.6 (standard deviation: 3.86) years were included. 250-m NDVI was negatively associated with the risk of VDD (per 0.1-unit increase, relative risk [RR]: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97–0.99). With the highest quartile of NDVI exposure as the reference group, the upper-middle quartile (RR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00–1.03), and lowest quartile (RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01–1.06) had an increased risk of VDD.
At higher PM2.5 exposure concentrations, 250-m NDVI exposure was negatively associated with the risk of VDD (RR: 0.98, 95%CI: 0.97–0.99, per 0.1-unit increase), but not at lower PM2.5 exposure concentrations. Among pregnant women with higher PM2.5, the mediation of PM2.5 exposure on the association between 250-m NDVI and VDD was 44.70% (P = 0.0116). Among pregnant women with higher PM10 exposure, the mediation of PM10 exposure on the association between 250-m NDVI and VDD was 17.98% (P = 0.002).
These findings suggest that higher residential greenery significantly reduces the risk of VDD in pregnant women, particularly in those exposed to increased PM concentrations.
Reference:
Dongjian Yang, Yanling Shen, Qun Wang, Xin Sun, Mengxiang Li, Jinjing Shi, Lei Chen, Jun Zhang, Xinhua Ji. Association of greenness exposure with serum vitamin D status and effects of ambient particulate matter among pregnant women in early pregnancy, Environmental Pollution, 2025, 126067, ISSN 0269-7491, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126067.
