Neighborhood Greenness Attenuates the Adverse Effect of PM 2.5 on Cardiovascular Mortality in Neighborhoods of Lower Socioeconomic Status

Maayan Yitshak-Sade, Peter James, Itai Kloog, Jaime E. Hart, Joel D. Schwartz, Francine Laden, Kevin J. Lane, M. Patricia Fabian, Kelvin C. Fong and Antonella Zanobetti
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Maayan Yitshak-Sade: Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Peter James: Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Itai Kloog: Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel
Jaime E. Hart: Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Joel D. Schwartz: Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Francine Laden: Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Kevin J. Lane: Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
M. Patricia Fabian: Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Kelvin C. Fong: Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Antonella Zanobetti: Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: Features of the environment may modify the effect of particulate matter ≤2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5 ) on health. Therefore, we investigated how neighborhood sociodemographic and land-use characteristics may modify the association between PM 2.5 and cardiovascular mortality. We obtained residence-level geocoded cardiovascular mortality cases from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health ( n = 179,986), and PM 2.5 predictions from a satellite-based model (2001–2011). We appended census block group-level information on sociodemographic factors and walkability, and calculated neighborhood greenness within a 250 m buffer surrounding each residence. We found a 2.54% (1.34%; 3.74%) increase in cardiovascular mortality associated with a 10 µg/m 3 increase in two-day average PM 2.5 . Walkability or greenness did not modify the association. However, when stratifying by neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics, smaller PM 2.5 effects were observed in greener areas only among cases who resided in neighborhoods with a higher population density and lower percentages of white residents or residents with a high school diploma. In conclusion, the PM 2.5 effects on cardiovascular mortality were attenuated by higher greenness only in areas with sociodemographic features that are highly correlated with lower socioeconomic status. Previous evidence suggests health benefits linked to neighborhood greenness may be stronger among lower socioeconomic groups. Attenuation of the PM 2.5 –mortality relationship due to greenness may explain some of this evidence.

Keywords: PM 2.5; neighborhood greenness; modification; walkability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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