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This study aimed to determine the relationships between prenatal PM2.5 exposure and childhood growth trajectories during the first 6 years of life. A total of 47,625 pairs of mothers and children were recruited from a prospective birth cohort conducted between 2011 and 2013 in Wuhan, China, and followed for 6 years. We used the group-based trajectory models to classify the population into three trajectory groups: slow growth (n = 13,671, 28.7%), normal growth (n = 29,736, 62.4%), and rapid growth (n = 4218, 8.9%). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to determine the associations of prenatal PM2.5 exposure and childhood growth trajectories. Compared to normal growth trajectory, increased PM2.5 exposure in trimester 1, trimester 2 and the entire pregnancy showed significant associations with an increased risk of the slow growth trajectory but reduced the risk for the rapid growth trajectory, significant association of prenatal PM2.5 exposure with rapid growth trajectory was only observed in the trimester 3. Stratified analyses displayed relatively stronger associations among those mothers with maternal age over 35 years, pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, and previous delivery experience. Prenatal exposure to PM2.5, particularly during the midpoint period of pregnancy, was more likely to have a slow growth trajectory and a lower risk of rapid growth trajectory. Maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, and previous delivery experience might modify these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Few studies focus on the symptoms of common mental disorders during pregnancy (CMDP) and risk of preterm birth subtypes (PTB). The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between CMDP and PTB, and to examine whether or not the association between CMDP and PTB varies with the subtype of PTB in Chinese. Methods This population-based case control study, conducted in Wuhan, China, defined cases as every pregnant woman who had a PTB among all births in Wuhan, from June 10, 2011, to June 9, 2013. The same number of pregnant women who had term births was randomly selected as controls. The Electronic Perinatal Health Care Information System, a questionnaire designed for the study, provided data about the participants. Logistic regression analyses were used to model associations betweenCMDP and PTB, and to test associations between CMDP and two subtypes of PTB. Results The study recruited 8616 cases and an equal number of controls. We successfully collected maternal information on 6656 cases and controls for a response rate of 77.3 %. The incidence of PTB in Wuhan was 4.5 %. Spontaneous preterm births (SPTB) accounted for 60.1 %, and medically induced preterm births (IPTB) accounted for 39.9 % of preterm births. The prevalence rate of CMDP was 15.8 %. CMDP was slightly associated with PTB (crude OR 1.16, 95 % CI 1.01-1.32; adjusted OR 1.15, 95 % CI 1.00-1.32), further analyses showed CMDP was associated with IPTB (aOR 1.25, 95 % CI 1.04-1.50), but not with SPTB. Conclusion Our data suggest that CMDP is related to an increased risk of PTB, and that this association is primarily due to IPTB rather than SPTB., Author(s): Rong Yang[sup.1] , Shengwen Liang[sup.2] , Louise H. Flick[sup.3] , Shaoping Yang[sup.1] , Ke Hu[sup.2] , Jing Wang[sup.3] , Ronghua Hu[sup.1] , Zhen Huang[sup.2] , Guanghui Dong[sup.4] , Yiming [...]

Background: Limited evidence is available regarding the association of green-space exposure with childhood behavioural development. This study aimed to investigate the associations of exposure to green space with multiple syndromes of behavioural development in preschool children.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from April 2016 to June 2018. We recruited a sample of 6039 children aged 5-6 years from 17 kindergartens located in five urban districts of the city. We measured the greenness using average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within a circular buffer area of 100 metres surrounding the central point of residences and kindergartens. We calculated the residence-kindergarten-weighted greenness by assuming that children spent 16 hours per day at home and 8 hours at kindergarten. The problem behaviours of children were evaluated at kindergarten using the Childhood Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and standardized into problem behavioural T scores. Linear mixed-effect models and linear-regression models were used to estimate the associations.Results: We observed decreases in problem behaviours associated with kindergarten and residence-kindergarten-weighted surrounding greenness in preschool children. For example, a one-interquartile range increase in kindergarten and residence-kindergarten-weighted NDVI was associated with decreased T scores for total behaviour by -0.61 [95% confidence interval (CI): -1.09, -0.13) and -0.49 (95% CI -0.85, -0.12), anxiety and depression by -0.65 (95% CI: -1.13, -0.17) and -0.46 (95% CI: -0.82, -0.10), aggressive behaviour by -0.53 (95% CI: -1.01, -0.05) and -0.38 (95% CI: -0.75, -0.02) and hyperactivity and attention deficit by -0.54 (95% CI: -1.01, -0.07) and -0.48 (95% CI: -0.83, -0.12), respectively. Stratified analyses indicated that the associations of green-space exposure with problem behaviours were stronger in boys than in girls.Conclusions: Children attending kindergartens with higher levels of surrounding green space exhibited better behavioural development. The mechanisms underlying these associations should be explored further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]