Can nearby greenspaces reduce pregnancy-related high blood pressure and later chronic hypertension?
Official title: The Role of Neighborhood Greenspace in reducing Risk of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy, Chronic Hypertension, and Racial Disparities in Maternal Morbidity
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11237978 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether living near parks and leafy areas lowers the chance of high blood pressure during pregnancy and long-term high blood pressure for pregnant people, with attention to racial differences.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | January 15, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $681,817 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL157160-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11237978 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This is most relevant to pregnant people or people who recently gave birth in Philadelphia, especially those living in neighborhoods included in the greening intervention.
✕Less likely to help
People living outside Philadelphia or whose pregnancies occurred outside the study time window are unlikely to be directly involved or receive direct benefits from the intervention data.
What this research studies
Researchers will link health records for about 92,000 pregnant people in Philadelphia (2008–2021) with neighborhood greenspace maps and data from a recent randomized greening intervention. They will use statistical models to compare greenspace near patients' homes with rates of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and with new chronic hypertension up to five years after delivery. A quasi-experimental analysis will examine whether neighborhoods that received greening changes saw different risks than similar neighborhoods that did not. The team will also analyze whether greenspace effects differ across racial groups to better understand disparities in maternal health.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could support using neighborhood greening as a practical way to reduce pregnancy-related high blood pressure and future heart risk for birthing people.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research links greenspace to better cardiovascular health and the team has run a randomized greening trial, but direct evidence for reducing pregnancy-related high blood pressure is limited, making this work partly novel.
Where this research is happening
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University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: South, Eugenia C — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: South, Eugenia C
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.