Reducing artificial light at night exposure in the urban environment could decrease light

October 3, 2025

Abstract

Elevated blood pressure in children is related to the hypertension in adults. Reducing environmental factors linked to hypertension in children is necessary to prevent hypertension in adults. To investigate the associations between outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) and blood pressure among children. We recruited 9354 children aged 5–17 in the Seven Northeastern Cities Study between 2012 and 2013. Trained nurses measured their blood pressure with a mercury sphygmomanometer. We defined hypertension as systolic blood pressure (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥95th age-sex-height-specific percentile. We geocoded the address of each child and linked it to estimated outdoor ALAN within 500 m (ALAN−500 m) sourced from the VIIRS/DNB. We utilized generalized linear mixed-effect models to assess the associations of outdoor ALAN and blood pressure and the odds of hypertension. Effect modification by age, sex, weight status, and other potential factors was also explored. The SBP, DBP, and mean arterial pressure at quartile 4 (Q4) of outdoor ALAN−500 m against Q1 increased in 1.45 (95% CI: 0.31–2.59) mmHg, 2.09 (95% CI: 1.18–2.99) mmHg, and 1.87 (95% CI: 0.99–2.76) mmHg, respectively. The odds of hypertension increased by 30% in Q3 of outdoor ALAN−500 m compared to Q1 (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.05–1.61). Furthermore, stronger effect estimates were observed among children aged ≤11 years (Q4, β = 5.07[3.28–6.85] vs β = 1.54[0.37–2.71] for DBP) and who were overweight (Q4, OR = 1.95[1.17–3.22] vs OR = 0.89[0.60–1.32] for hypertension). Living in areas with high outdoor ALAN exposure increased the odds of hypertension in children, especially in children aged ≤11 years and overweight. Reducing outdoor ALAN is important for preventing hypertension and controlling blood pressure in children.

The study found a positive association between outdoor ALAN and blood pressure and hypertension

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the teachers, participants, and participants’ parents or guardians from the Seven Northeastern Cities Study. We are grateful to Dr. Muhammad Amjad for revising the language in the full text.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC3702702, 2023YFC3709203), National Natural Science Foundation of China (82373536, 81872583, 82003418, 82073502), Guangxi Key Research and Development Plan (2023AB22092), Zhongnanshan Medical Foundation of Guangdong Province (ZNSXS-20230012), Scientific and Technological Projects of Shenzhen (JCYJ20230807153259001), Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease (SKLRD-OP-202402). Li-Wen Hu is supported by China Scholarship Council (202106385026).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Le-Bing Wang, Hong-Xing Zou, Xiao-Yi Liu, Xiao-Fan Lu

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joint International Research Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Le-Bing Wang, Hong-Xing Zou, Xiao-Yi Liu, Xiao-Fan Lu, Jing-Yao Wang, Cheng Li, Shuo Zhang, Si-Han Wu, Han-Yu Yang, Yang Zhou, Li-Zi Lin, Ru-Qing Liu, Guang-Hui Dong & Li-Wen Hu

  2. The Reproductive Health Research Center, the Reproductive Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China

    Zhong Lin

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Wang, LB., Zou, HX., Liu, XY. et al. Reducing artificial light at night exposure in the urban environment could decrease light pollution-related hypertension in children.
Hypertens Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-025-02380-z

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  • Received: 06 February 2025

  • Revised: 04 September 2025

  • Accepted: 15 September 2025

  • Published: 03 October 2025

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-025-02380-z

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