TY - JOUR
T1 - Natural and built environments and blood pressure of Alpine schoolchildren
AU - Dzhambov, Angel M.
AU - Lercher, Peter
AU - Markevych, Iana
AU - Browning, Matthew H.E.M.
AU - Rüdisser, Johannes
N1 - Funding Information:
We want to thank first the inhabitants of the Lower Inn and Wipp valleys . Our thanks also go to the Austrian Ministry of Science and Transportation for funding the framework of the Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA), the government of the Tyrol region for providing GIS data and informational support from the BEG (Brenner Eisenbahn Gesellschaft).
Funding Information:
Iana Markevych is supported from the “ NeuroSmog: Determining the impact of air pollution on the developing brain ” (Nr. POIR.04.04.00–1763/18-00 ), which is implemented as part of the TEAM-NET programme of the Foundation for Polish Science, co-financed from EU resources, obtained from the European Regional Development Fund under the Smart Growth Operational Programme. Johannes Rüdisser is a member of the ‘Research Area Mountain Regions’ at the University of Innsbruck.
Funding Information:
We want to thank first the inhabitants of the Lower Inn and Wipp valleys. Our thanks also go to the Austrian Ministry of Science and Transportation for funding the framework of the Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA), the government of the Tyrol region for providing GIS data and informational support from the BEG (Brenner Eisenbahn Gesellschaft). The BBT survey got support from the BBT company within a legally required EHIA through EU-support. The noise mapping was done by INTEC, Ghent, and the air pollution assessment by an Italian-Austrian consortium. Finally, we thank the large EHIA-teams in both studies who did the fieldwork. Iana Markevych is supported from the ?NeuroSmog: Determining the impact of air pollution on the developing brain? (Nr. POIR.04.04.00?1763/18-00), which is implemented as part of the TEAM-NET programme of the Foundation for Polish Science, co-financed from EU resources, obtained from the European Regional Development Fund under the Smart Growth Operational Programme. Johannes R?disser is a member of the ?Research Area Mountain Regions? at the University of Innsbruck.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - Background: Early life environments may influence children's blood pressure (BP), but evidence on the combined effects of natural and built environment exposures is scarce. The present study investigates the associations of natural and built environment indicators, traffic noise, and air pollution with BP in children living in Alpine valleys. Methods: In 2004/2005, 1251 school children (8–12 years old) were sampled for a cross-sectional survey in several Austrian and Italian mountain valleys. Children's mothers completed a questionnaire. The outcomes of interest were systolic and diastolic BP measured with a calibrated oscillometric device. Indicators of land cover assigned to the residential and school coordinates within 100 and 1000 m included normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), tree canopy cover, and a broader naturalness indicator titled distance to nature (D2N). The presence of a home garden was also measured via self-report. Imperviousness density served as a proxy for the built environment. Residential air pollution (NO2) and noise (Lden) from traffic were calculated using bespoke modeling. NO2, Lden, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) were treated as mediating pathways. Results: Higher NDVI and tree cover levels in residential and school surroundings and home gardens were consistently associated with lower BP. The built environment was associated with higher BP. Counterintuitive inverse associations between NO2 and Lden and BP were also found. Structural equation modeling showed that higher levels of greenspace and presence of a home garden were weakly associated with more outdoor play spaces, and in turn with lower BMI, and ultimately with lower BP. Conclusions: Exposure to natural environments may help maintain normal BP in children, while built environment may increase children's BP. Outdoor play and less adiposity in greener areas may mediate some of these associations. Evidence on air pollution and noise remains controversial and difficult to explain.
AB - Background: Early life environments may influence children's blood pressure (BP), but evidence on the combined effects of natural and built environment exposures is scarce. The present study investigates the associations of natural and built environment indicators, traffic noise, and air pollution with BP in children living in Alpine valleys. Methods: In 2004/2005, 1251 school children (8–12 years old) were sampled for a cross-sectional survey in several Austrian and Italian mountain valleys. Children's mothers completed a questionnaire. The outcomes of interest were systolic and diastolic BP measured with a calibrated oscillometric device. Indicators of land cover assigned to the residential and school coordinates within 100 and 1000 m included normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), tree canopy cover, and a broader naturalness indicator titled distance to nature (D2N). The presence of a home garden was also measured via self-report. Imperviousness density served as a proxy for the built environment. Residential air pollution (NO2) and noise (Lden) from traffic were calculated using bespoke modeling. NO2, Lden, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) were treated as mediating pathways. Results: Higher NDVI and tree cover levels in residential and school surroundings and home gardens were consistently associated with lower BP. The built environment was associated with higher BP. Counterintuitive inverse associations between NO2 and Lden and BP were also found. Structural equation modeling showed that higher levels of greenspace and presence of a home garden were weakly associated with more outdoor play spaces, and in turn with lower BMI, and ultimately with lower BP. Conclusions: Exposure to natural environments may help maintain normal BP in children, while built environment may increase children's BP. Outdoor play and less adiposity in greener areas may mediate some of these associations. Evidence on air pollution and noise remains controversial and difficult to explain.
KW - Air pollution
KW - CVD
KW - Green space
KW - Greenness
KW - Grey space
KW - Traffic noise
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114138005&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111925
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111925
M3 - Article
C2 - 34437849
AN - SCOPUS:85114138005
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 204
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
IS - A
M1 - 111925
ER -
