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ObjectiveResearch on adults has identified an immigrant health advantage, known as the ‘immigrant health paradox’, by which migrants exhibit better health outcomes than natives. Is this health advantage transferred from parents to children in the form of higher birth weight relative to children of natives?SettingWestern Europe and Australia.ParticipantsWe use data from nine birth cohorts participating in the LifeCycle Project, including five studies with large samples of immigrants’ children: Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l’Enfance—France (N=12 494), the Raine Study—Australia (N=2283), Born in Bradford—UK (N=4132), Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study—Netherlands (N=4030) and the Generation R study—Netherlands (N=4877). We include male and female babies born to immigrant and native parents.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome is birth weight measured in grams. Different specifications were tested: birth weight as a continuous variable including all births (DV1), the same variable but excluding babies born with over 4500 g (DV2), low birth weight as a 0–1 binary variable (1=birth weight below 2500 g) (DV3). Results using these three measures were similar, only results using DV1 are presented. Parental migration status is measured in four categories: both parents natives, both born abroad, only mother born abroad and only father born abroad.ResultsTwo patterns in children’s birth weight by parental migration status emerged: higher birth weight among children of immigrants in France (+12 g, pConclusionThe immigrant health advantage is not universally transferred to children in the form of higher birth weight in all host countries. Further research should investigate whether this cross-national variation is due to differences in immigrant communities, social and healthcare contexts across host countries.

Sedentary behaviour (SB) may be related to telomere length (TL) attrition due to a possible pro-inflammatory effect. This study examined the association between parent-reported sedentary behaviour (SB) and leukocyte TL at the age of 4 and telomere tracking from 4 to 8 years. In the Spanish birth cohort Infancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) project, we analysed data from children who attended follow-up visits at age 4 (n = 669) and 8 (n = 530). Multiple robust regression models were used to explore the associations between mean daily hours of SB (screen time, other sedentary activities, and total SB) at 4 years categorised into tertiles and TL at 4 years and difference in TL rank between age 4 and 8, respectively. At the age of 4, the results showed that children with the highest screen time (1.6–5.0 h/day) had a shorter TL of −3.9% (95% CI: −7.4, −0.4; p = 0.03) compared with children in the lowest tertile (0.0–1.0 h/day). Between 4 and 8 years, a higher screen time (highest tertile group vs. lowest tertile) was associated with a decrease in the LTL rank of −1.9% (95% CI: −3.8, −0.1; p = 0.03) from 4 to 8 years. Children exposed to a higher screen time at 4 years were more prone to have shorter TL at 4 and between 4 and 8 years of age. This study supports the potential negative effect of SB during childhood on cellular longevity. This research was funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PI18/00825: “Dieta y actividad física en embarazo y tras el nacimiento y longitud del telómero en niños y adolescentes: Proyecto TeloDiPA” and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): “Una manera de hacer Europa”); the Generalitat Valenciana (GVA/2021/191, CIAICO/2021/132); the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-PI09/00090, PI04/2018, PI09/02311, PI13/02429, PI16/1288, PI18/00909, PI19/1338 and FIS-PI18/01142 incl. ERFD funds, PS20/0006), the Department of Health of the Basque Government (2013111089); the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-PI13/02187 and FIS-PI18/01142 incl. ERFD funds), the Department of Health of the Basque Government (2015111065), and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG15/221) and annual agreements with the municipalities of the study area (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia y Beasain); Obra Social Cajastur/Fundación Liberbank and Universidad de Oviedo; and Gobierno de España through Ministerio de Universidades under the grants CAS21/00008 and NextGenerationEU. DPB was supported by the Miguel Hernández University (Ayudas Movilidad Internacional 2021, Erasmus+ 2021) during the development of this study. In addition, DM holds a postdoctoral grant by the Flemish Scientific Fund (FWO grant 12X9620N). The funders had no role in the design of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval and submission of the manuscript. The APC was funded by PI18/00825.

Urban landscapes are becoming the main ecosystem for human life. Given that urban living can be associated with poor psychological health, one specific challenge faced by cities is related to psychological well-being. The current essay discusses how restorative environments research can offer significant insights into the strategy of healthy cities by guiding the exploration of their restorative outcomes. We propose a theoretical model elucidating the physical and symbolic features of urban settings that can aid processes of active and passive restoration-based on theory and evidence from restorative environments research. Future research should consider urban psychological restoration in a broader sense and lend greater relevance to the exploration of the restorative potential of the full range of urban built settings.

Validated physical activity (PA) questionnaires are crucial for collecting information in large epidemiological studies during childhood. Thus, this study analyzed the validity of a parent-reported PA questionnaire based on the Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey by accelerometry in European children aged from 6 to 12 years old. We used data from 230 children of the Human Early-Life Exposome and Infancia y Medio Ambiente projects. Mean differences between moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) reported by the questionnaire and the accelerometer were calculated (min/day), and its associated factors were explored by multiple robust linear regression. The agreement between methods was examined using a Bland-Altman plot. The concurrent validity of assessing MVPA was analyzed by cohort-adjusted Spearman's partial correlations. ROC curve analysis was also used to explore the questionnaire's capability to identify active children based on the World Health Organization guidelines. A moderate correlation was found between parent-reported and accelerometer MVPA (rho = 0.41, p < 0.001). The child's sex (girl) was statistically associated with the mean MVPA difference between methods. However, this questionnaire accurately identified physically active children (area under the curve = 83.8% and 82.7% for boys and girls, cut-points = 68.6 and 45.4 min/day in MVPA, respectively). Consequently, this questionnaire is suitable for classifying active children in order to monitor public health interventions regarding PA. This study was supported by funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007–2013] under grant agreement no. 308333—the HELIX project. INMA data collections were supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; PI041436; PI081151 incl. FEDER funds; PI12/01890 incl. FEDER funds; CP13/00054 incl. FEDER funds; PI15/00118 incl. FEDER funds; CP16/00128 incl. FEDER funds; PI16/00118 incl. FEDER funds; PI16/00261 incl. FEDER funds; PI17/01340 incl. FEDER funds; PI18/00547 incl. FEDER funds, PI18/01237 incl. FEDER funds, PI18/00825 incl. FEDER funds); Generalitat Valenciana (GVA/2021/191); CIBERESP; and the Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241; Generalitat de Catalunya-AGAUR (2009 SGR 501, 2014 SGR 822), Fundació La marató de TV3 (090430). ISGlobal acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019–2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2012-32991 incl. FEDER funds), Agence Nationale de Securite Sanitaire de l’Alimentation de l’Environnement et du Travail (1262C0010; EST-2016 RF-21), EU Commission (261357, 308333, 603794 and 634453); and annual agreements with the municipalities of the study area (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia y Beasain). M.C. and M.G. hold Miguel Servet fellowships (CP16/00128, CPII18/00018) funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by European Social Fund “Investing in your future”. R.R.C.M. received funding from the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration for Yorkshire and Humber.

This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the projects “CP14/00108, PI16/00261 and PI21/00266” (co-funded by European Regional Development Fund “A way to make Europe”). This study was also funded bygrants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; PI041436; PI081151incl. FEDER funds), CIBERESP, EU Commission (261357). We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019–2023” program (CEX2018-000806-S). This study was also funded by Grants from UE (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1), Spain: ISCIII (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041; FIS-FEDER: PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI09/02647, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI14/00891, PI14/01687, PI16/1288, and PI17/00663…, Tahaei, Hana ; Gignac, Florence ; Pinar, Ariadna ; Fernandez-Barrés, Silvia ; Romaguera, Dora ; Vioque, Jesus ; Santa-Marina, Loreto ; Subiza-Pérez, Mikel ; Llop, Sabrina ; Soler-Blasco, Raquel ; Arija, Victoria ; Salas-Salvadó, Jordi ; Tardón, Adonina ; Riaño-Galán, Isolina ; Sunyer, Jordi ; Guxens, Monica ; Julvez, Jordi

Despite extensive study, the role of air pollution in gestational diabetes remains unclear, and there is limited evidence of the beneficial impact of residential greenness on metabolic dysfunction during pregnancy. We used data from mothers in the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) Project from 2003–2008. We obtained spatiotemporally resolved estimates of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposures in early pregnancy and estimated residential greenness using satellite-based Normal Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100, 300 and 500 m buffers surrounding the mother’s residence. We applied logistic regression models to evaluate associations between each of the three exposures of interest and (a) glucose intolerance and (b) abnormal lipid levels. We found limited evidence of associations between increases in PM2.5 and NO2 exposures and the metabolic outcomes. Though not statistically significant, high PM2.5 exposure (≥25 µg/m3) was associated with increased odds of glucose intolerance (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.82, 1.63) and high cholesterol (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.44). High NO2 exposure (≥39.8 µg/m3) was inversely associated with odds of high triglycerides (OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.45, 1.08). Whereas NDVI was not associated with glucose intolerance, odds of high triglycerides were increased, although the results were highly imprecise. Results were unchanged when the air pollutant variables were included in the regression models. Given the equivocal findings in our study, additional investigations are needed to assess effects of air pollution and residential greenness on metabolic dysfunction during pregnancy. This work is supported by a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) fellowship from the Training in Precision Environmental Health Sciences (TPEHS) Program (NIH Grant No. T32ES027801). E.S., K.W.W., and C.I.A. were partially supported by a NIEHS P30 Environmental Health Sciences Core Center grant (P30ES030285). The INMA study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041; FIS-FEDER: PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/0867, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI09/02647, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI14/00891, PI14/01687, PI16/1288, PI17/00663, FIS-PI18/01142 incl. FEDER funds; Miguel Servet-FEDER CP11/00178, CP15/00025, and CPII16/00051, CPII18/00018), Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241, EU Commission (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1), Generalitat Valenciana: FISABIO (UGP 15-230, UGP-15-244, and UGP-15-249), and Alicia Koplowitz Foundation 2017, Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093), Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG06/002), and annual agreements with the municipalities of the study area (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia y Beasain). We also acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S), and support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program.

Residential greenness may positively impact diverse human health indicators through the reduction of air pollution, the improvement of psychological health, and the promotion of physical activity. Previous studies indicate a weak but positive association with pregnancy outcomes. Our aim was to test the multiple pathways from residential greenness to pregnancy outcomes model, using residential NO2 concentrations, psychological health, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the first trimester of pregnancy, in a sample of 440 pregnant women residing in Donostia, Spain. Three metrics of residential greenness were calculated around each participant&rsquo, s home address: normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) within 300 m, and green space (&gt, 5000 m2) availability within 300 and 500 m. Residential NO2 concentrations, psychological health, and MVPA were explored as mediators of the associations between these metrics and the following pregnancy outcomes: birth weight (BW), low birth weight (LBW), prematurity, small for gestational age (SGA), and large for gestational age (LGA). Educational attainment, parity, and body mass index (BMI) were treated as covariates. Counterfactual mediation analyses showed very low to null statistical support for an association between any of the greenspace metrics and pregnancy outcomes in the full sample. Green space availability (300 m) was associated with lower BW and showed a marginal protective effect against LGA.

Background: Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient for humans, the diet being the main source of exposure. Some epidemiological studies describe a negative association between prenatal Mn and later neuropsychological development, but results are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to explore the association between prenatal Mn exposure and neuropsychological development assessed at 4 years of age. Methods: Study subjects were 304 mother-child pairs from the Gipuzkoa cohort of the INMA (Environment and Childhood) Project. Mn was measured in newborns&rsquo, hair. Children&rsquo, s neuropsychological development was assessed at 4 years of age using the McCarthy Scales of Children&rsquo, s Abilities. Multivariate linear regression models were built. Stratified analysis by sex was performed. Generalized additive models were used to assess the shape of the relation. Results: The median Mn concentration in newborns&rsquo, hair was 0.42 &mu, g/g (95% CI = 0.38, 0.46). The association between Mn levels and the neuropsychological development was not statistically significant for the general cognitive scale (&beta, [95% CI] = 0.36 [&minus, 5.23, 5.95]), motor scale (&beta, [95% CI] = 1.9 [&minus, 3.74, 7.55]) or any of the other outcomes. No sex-specific pattern was found. The best shape describing the relationship was linear for all the scales. Conclusion: Our results suggest that prenatal Mn concentrations measured in newborns&rsquo, hair do not affect cognitive or motor development at 4 years of age in boys or in girls at the observed Mn levels.

Aesthetic qualifies of urban green and blue spaces have received considerable attention in scientific literature but are operationalized in multiple ways and lack clear assessment and measurement techniques. To fill in this gap, we developed a Perceived Environmental Aesthetic Qualifies Scale (PEAQS). Based on previous literature both in philosophy and empirical sciences we created a questionnaire with 36 statements and three open questions focusing on the perceived aesthetic qualifies of environments. This questionnaire was used to sample 331 respondents in three sites different in their level of naturalness, human intervention and design: a natural-like but managed urban forest, a partly human-made and intensively managed bay-park and a completely human-made green roof. These sites were selected to represent a variety of urban green and blue infrastructure common in cities. The results suggest a scale that consists of 23 statements and five factors that reflect perceived aesthetic qualifies of urban green spaces: Harmony, Mystery, Multisensority & Nature, Visual Spaciousness and Visual Diversity, and Sublimity. We give guidelines for further development and testing of the scale in order to prove its potential to develop the field of environmental aesthetics and to demonstrate its usefulness for adaptive, evidence-based urban planning and design.

Over recent decades, the study of psychological restoration has attracted a considerable amount of interest within and without the boundaries of environmental psychology, with most of the work focused on analyzing restoration in natural contexts. However, little attention has been paid to the (possible) restorative potential of urban settings, as they have usually been expected not to be restorative and to present some elements that might imply negative health outcomes in the short and long term. In this field study, our aim was to evaluate restoration in urban squares. To this end, we measured participants' attentional and affective states both before and after spending half an hour in an urban square. A sample of 46 subjects contemplated and walked through one of the two selected squares that differed in restorative potential (PRS). Analyses revealed a statistically significant increase in cognitive performance and a decrease in negative affect in both squares. They also showed that participants reported greater stress recovery rates in one of the settings. These results support the idea that cities can be potentially restorative and justify the relevance of a research area focused on the urban designs, which may offer psychological benefits to urban citizens.