Green spaces and respiratory, cardiometabolic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes: An individual-participant data meta-analysis of >35.000 European children

Amanda Fernandes*, Demetris Avraam, Tim Cadman, Payam Dadvand, Mònica Guxens, Anne Claire Binter, Angela Pinot de Moira, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Liesbeth Duijts, Jordi Julvez, Montserrat De Castro, Serena Fossati, Sandra Márquez, Tanja Vrijkotte, Ahmed Elhakeem, Rosemary McEachan, Tiffany Yang, Marie Pedersen, Johan Vinther, Johanna LepeuleBarbara Heude, Vincent W.V. Jaddoe, Susana Santos, Marieke Welten, Hanan El Marroun, Annemiek Mian, Sandra Andrušaitytė, Aitana Lertxundi, Jesús Ibarluzea, Ferran Ballester, Ana Esplugues, Maria Torres Toda, Jennifer R. Harris, Johanna Lucia Thorbjørnsrud Nader, Giovenale Moirano, Silvia Maritano, Rebecca Catherine Wilson, Martine Vrijheid

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Studies evaluating the benefits and risks of green spaces on children's health are scarce. The present study aimed to examine the associations between exposure to green spaces during pregnancy and early childhood with respiratory, cardiometabolic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in school-age children. We performed an Individual-Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis involving 35,000 children from ten European birth cohorts across eight countries. For each participant, we calculated residential Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within a 300 m buffer and the linear distance to green spaces (meters) during prenatal life and childhood. Multiple harmonized health outcomes were selected: asthma and wheezing, lung function, body mass index, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, non-verbal intelligence, internalizing and externalizing problems, and ADHD symptoms. We conducted a two-stage IPD meta-analysis and evaluated effect modification by socioeconomic status (SES) and sex. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed via random-effects meta-regression. Residential surrounding green spaces in childhood, not pregnancy, was associated with improved lung function, particularly higher FEV1 (β = 0.06; 95 %CI: 0.03, 0.09 I2 = 4.03 %, p < 0.001) and FVC (β = 0.07; 95 %CI: 0.04, 0.09 I2 = 0 %, p < 0.001) with a stronger association observed in females (p < 0.001). This association remained robust after multiple testing correction and did not change notably after adjusting for ambient air pollution. Increased distance to green spaces showed an association with lower FVC (β = −0.04; 95 %CI: −0.07, −0.02, I2 = 4.8, p = 0.001), with a stronger effect in children from higher SES backgrounds (p < 0.001). No consistent associations were found between green spaces and asthma, wheezing, cardiometabolic, or neurodevelopmental outcomes, with direction of effect varying across cohorts. Wheezing and neurodevelopmental outcomes showed high between-study heterogeneity, and the age at outcome assessment was only associated with heterogeneity in internalizing problems. This large European meta-analysis suggests that childhood exposure to green spaces may lead to better lung function. Associations with other respiratory outcomes and selected cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes remain inconclusive.

Original languageEnglish
Article number108853
JournalEnvironment international
Volume190
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

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