title: Urban trees and the risk of poor birth outcomes.
abstract: This paper investigated whether greater tree-canopy cover is associated with reduced risk of poor birth outcomes in Portland, Oregon. Residential addresses were geocoded and linked to classified-aerial imagery to calculate tree-canopy cover in 50, 100, and 200 m buffers around each home in our sample (n=5696). Detailed data on maternal characteristics and additional neighborhood variables were obtained from birth certificates and tax records. We found that a 10% increase in tree-canopy cover within 50 m of a house reduced the number of small for gestational age births by 1.42 per 1000 births (95% CI-0.11-2.72). Results suggest that the natural environment may affect pregnancy outcomes and should be evaluated in future research.
authors.affiliation: USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station, Portland, OR 97205, USA. gdonovan@fs.fed.us
authors.forename: Geoffrey H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.forename: Yvonne L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Michael
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Butry
authors.forename: Amy D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chase
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002947:Cities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D009922:Oregon / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014197:Trees; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*