Associations of Residential Brownness and Greenness with Fasting Glucose in Young Healthy Adults Living in the Desert

Hector A. Olvera-Alvarez, Matthew H. E. M. Browning, Andreas M. Neophytou and Gregory N. Bratman
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Hector A. Olvera-Alvarez: School of Nursing, Oregon Health and Science University, 3455 SW U.S. Veterans Hospital Rd., Portland, OR 97239, USA
Matthew H. E. M. Browning: Virtual Reality and Nature Lab, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Andreas M. Neophytou: Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Gregory N. Bratman: School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Evolutionary psychology theories propose that contact with green, natural environments may benefit physical health, but little comparable evidence exists for brown, natural environments, such as the desert. In this study, we examined the association between “brownness” and “greenness” with fasting glucose among young residents of El Paso, Texas. We defined brownness as the surface not covered by vegetation or impervious land within Euclidian buffers around participants’ homes. Fasting glucose along with demographic and behavioral data were obtained from the Nurse Engagement and Wellness Study ( n = 517). We found that residential proximity to brownness was not associated with fasting glucose when modeled independently. In contrast, we found that residential greenness was associated with decreased levels of fasting glucose, despite the relatively low levels of greenness within the predominantly desert environment of El Paso. A difference between the top and bottom greenness exposure quartiles within a 250 m buffer was associated with a 3.5 mg/dL decrease in fasting glucose levels (95% confidence interval: −6.2, −0.8). Our results suggest that within the understudied context of the desert, green vegetation may be health promoting to a degree that is similar to other, non-desert locations in the world that have higher baselines levels of green.

Keywords: green space; arid; diabetes; Hispanics; built environment; biophilia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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