Maternal mental health liveability shaped by composite residential environmental profiles
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Women are a vulnerable population for mental illnesses, with the perinatal period representing a particularly high-risk susceptible window. Whereas maternal mental health research often narrowly focused on postpartum depression, psychological disturbances during pregnancy received insufficient attention. Here we analyzed a Chinese nationwide 13-year maternity cohort involving 216,442 pregnant women, revealing that the prevalence of prenatal mental distress symptoms peaked at 31.8%. We identified a broad spectrum of risk determinants, spanning socioeconomic disadvantages, behavioral vulnerabilities, medical histories and suboptimal residential environmental exposures. We estimated that 1.61 (95% uncertainty interval: 1.35–1.88) million prenatal mental distress symptoms were attributable to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and heatwave exposure, while green spaces prevented 791.7 (95% uncertainty interval: 648.1–948.9) thousand cases. We further delineated multiple pathways through which urban greening confers mental well-being benefits, including attenuation of pollution-associated stress, reduction of heatwave occurrence, encouragement of outdoor physical activity and intrinsic mental restoration. Our study ultimately provides policy-oriented evidence to inform fertility-supportive and health-promoting urban planning, echoing China’s ‘three-child policy’ and ‘Healthy China 2030’ blueprint. In a cohort of 216,000+ pregnant women across China, air pollution and heat were linked to higher risks of prenatal mental distress, while nearby green space was protective. Urban greening could support maternal mental health and healthier cities.
Source: Nature Cities
Authors: Haitong Zhe Sun, Chenchi Duan, Xiaoxia Bai, Han Chen, Yijia Tian, Juan Gao, Haiyang Tang, Qingyi Xiang, Zekun Wang, Han Liu, Chen Zhang, Xukai Luo, Hongmei Li, Yi Guo, Yajuan Xu, Haihong Lao, Yuhua Chen, Jingli Zhai, Rexidamu Yimiti, Yiting Chen, Jianbo Guo, Yanhui Yu, Xiujuan Yang, Jing Huang, Yang Xie, Yin Long, Lynette P. Shek, Gordon G. Liu, Tiantian Li, Bernhard Schwartländer, Nick Watts, Yanting Wu, Hefeng Huang
Institutions: Fudan University, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University, National University of Singapore, First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University, Yanan University Affiliated Hospital, Yan'an University, Dalian Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Karamay Central Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing University, Shanxi Medical University, Peking University, The University of Tokyo, Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
OpenAlex ID: W7225085729