Impacts of Urban Green on Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Alessandro Bianconi, Giulia Longo, Angela Andrea Coa, Matteo Fiore () and Davide Gori
Additional contact information
Alessandro Bianconi: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Giulia Longo: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Angela Andrea Coa: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Matteo Fiore: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Davide Gori: Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of mortality globally. In particular, ischemic heart diseases (IHDs) and cerebrovascular diseases (CBVDs) represent the main drivers of CVD-related deaths. Many literature examples have assessed the association between CVD risk factors and urban greenness. Urban green (UG) may positively affect physical activity, reduce air and noise pollution, and mitigate the heat island effect, which are known risk factors for CVD morbidity. This systematic review aims to assess the effects of urban green spaces on CVD morbidity and mortality. Peer-reviewed research articles with a quantitative association between urban green exposure variables and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes were included. Meta-analyses were conducted for each outcome evaluated in at least three comparable studies. Most of the included studies’ results highlighted an inverse correlation between exposure to UG and CVD outcomes. Gender differences were found in four studies, with a protective effect of UG only statistically significant in men. Three meta-analyses were performed, showing an overall protective effect of UG on CVD mortality (HR (95% CI) = 0.94 (0.91, 0.97)), IHD mortality (HR (95% CI) = 0.96 (0.93, 0.99)), and CBVD mortality (HR (95% CI) = 0.96 (0.94, 0.97)). The results of this systematic review suggest that exposure to UG may represent a protective factor for CVDs.

Keywords: urban green; cardiovascular diseases; ischemic heart disease; cerebrovascular diseases; residential greenness; CVD; meta-analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/11/5966/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/11/5966/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:11:p:5966-:d:1157058

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().