Community greenness, blood pressure, and hypertension in urban dwellers: The 33 Communities Chinese Health Study

Citizens’ participation in urban environmental quality assessment is important when identifying local problems in the sustainable development and environmental planning policy. The principal aim of this study was to analyze whether any social differences exist between the joint effect of built neighborhood quality and exposure to urban green spaces and the risk of hypertension. The study sample consisted of 580 participants residing in 11 districts in Kaunas city, Lithuania. Using geographic information systems (GIS), individual data on the socioeconomic status (SES) and health were linked to the participants’ perceptions of the environmental quality and exposure to green spaces (NDVI). We used multivariate logistic regression to estimate associations as odds ratios (OR). Those study participants with lower education and those study participants with higher education on low incomes rated their health significantly worse. Low SES persons residing in areas with low exposure to green spaces had a significantly higher risk of hypertension when sex, age, family status, smoking, and income were accounted for (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.01–3.36). This citizen science study provided evidence that the social environment and the quality of the built environment had a complex effect on disparities in the risk of hypertension.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Neighborhood Social and Built Environment and Disparities in the Risk of Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study

Gražulevičienė

Gražulevičius

Dėdelė

2020

“…Females living in areas with a lower density of green spaces (at 1500 m) had higher odds for hypertension after adjusting by individual and neighborhood characteristics. Previous studies support the idea that greater availability of green spaces around home reduces blood pressure in adults [31,32], especially by harm reduction (e.g., exposure to noise or air pollution) [33], psychological and physiological stress alleviation, increased social cohesion, or physical activity [15]. Similarly, we found a relationship between green spaces and hypercholesterolemia, consistent with other previous studies [27,31,34], that suggested that green spaces could reduce cholesterol levels via physical activity, harm reduction or psychosocial pathways.…”

Section: Comparison With Previous Studies and Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Density of Green Spaces and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the City of Madrid: The Heart Healthy Hoods Study

Plans

Gullón

Cebrecos

et al. 2019

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the density of green spaces at different buffer sizes (300, 500, 1000 and 1500 m) and cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes) as well as to study if the relationship is different for males and females. We conducted cross-sectional analyses using the baseline measures of the Heart Healthy Hoods study (N = 1625). We obtained data on the outcomes from clinical diagnoses, as well as anthropometric and blood sample measures. Exposure data on green spaces density at different buffer sizes were derived from the land cover distribution map of Madrid. Results showed an association between the density of green spaces within 300 and 500 m buffers with high cholesterol and diabetes, and an association between the density of green spaces within 1500 m buffer with hypertension. However, all of these associations were significant only in women. Study results, along with other evidence, may help policy-makers creating healthier environments that could reduce cardiovascular disease burden and reduce gender health inequities. Further research should investigate the specific mechanisms behind the differences by gender and buffer size of the relationship between green spaces and cardiovascular risk factors.

“…Additionally, we assessed the associations between greenness and fasting glucose levels with diabetes mellitus by sex (female vs. male) and age (<48 years vs. ≥48 years). We also explored potential mediation effects of physical activity by comparing the effect estimates before and after additional adjustment for physical activity [30]. For each model, effect estimates for fasting glucose levels and diabetes mellitus were calculated per interquartile range (IQR) increase in NDVI and SAVI.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of Residential Greenness with Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Uyghur Adults

Fan

Xue²,

Yuan

et al. 2019

Greenness exposure is nominated as a potential beneficial factor for health, but evidence is limited on its diabetes effects. We conducted a cross-sectional study between May and September 2016 in rural areas of northwestern China, including 4670 Uyghur adults, to explore the associations between residential greenness and fasting glucose levels and diabetes prevalence. Fasting glucose levels were determined, and information on covariates was collected by questionnaire. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) were calculated to assess greenness levels. Generalized linear mixed models were applied to evaluate the associations of greenness with fasting glucose levels and diabetes prevalence. The prevalence of diabetes was 11.6%. We found that living in rural areas characterized by increased amounts of greenness was associated with reduced diabetes prevalence (e.g., NDVI1000m: OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86, 0.99). Stratified analyses showed that the protective effects of greenness on diabetes prevalence were found only in women (NDVI1000m: OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82, 0.99). However, none of the interaction was statistically significant. Our study suggests that greater residential greenness levels were associated with a lower odds ratio of diabetes prevalence in Xinjiang Uyghur adults. Further well-designed longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings.