Urban Green Spaces’ Influence on Civilization Diseases—Meta-Analysis and Critical Review

Małgorzata Kaczyńska ()
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Małgorzata Kaczyńska: Department of Landscape Art, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska Street 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: This study investigates the influence of urban green spaces on the prevalence of overweight/obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The search was run in the PUBMED database, using the search algorithm including combinations of keywords associated with the two concepts: civilization health problems and urban green spaces. A meta-analysis (for 48 studies) and critical review (for 26 studies) were performed. The meta-analysis results show that the presence, accessibility, and quality of green spaces are associated with the decreased prevalence of overweight/obesity (OR 0.86 (95% CI 0.77–0.95), p < 0.001, I 2 99.7%), diabetes (OR 0.83 (95% CI 0.79–0.87), p < 0.001, I 2 67.5%), and hypertension (OR 0.77 (95% CI 0.63–0.92), p < 0.001, I 2 84.9%). In the children population, the influence of green spaces on overweight is unequivocal (OR 0.88 (95% CI 0.72–1.03), p < 0.001, I 2 99.6%) and there is no influence on diabetes control. A green space’s direct influence on systolic or diastolic blood pressure is unequivocal. A green space is associated with a decreased prevalence of civilization diseases. Its positive influence, however, is not so strong in children. The short-term influence of green spaces on blood pressure (e.g., taken as a proxy for mental stress) is unequivocal.

Keywords: green space; park; sustainable health; overweight/obesity; diabetes; hypertension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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