Citation

Yitshak-Sade M, James P, Kloog I, Hart JE, Schwartz JD, Laden F, Lane KJ, Fabian MP, Fong KC, Zanobetti A. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(5): e16050814.

Affiliation

Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02215, USA. azanobet@hsph.harvard.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16050814

PMID

30845676

Abstract

Features of the environment may modify the effect of particulate matter ≤2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM_2.5) on health. Therefore, we investigated how neighborhood sociodemographic and land-use characteristics may modify the association between PM_2.5 and cardiovascular mortality. We obtained residence-level geocoded cardiovascular mortality cases from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (n = 179,986), and PM_2.5 predictions from a satellite-based model (2001⁻2011). We appended census block group-level information on sociodemographic factors and walkability, and calculated neighborhood greenness within a 250 m buffer surrounding each residence. We found a 2.54% (1.34%; 3.74%) increase in cardiovascular mortality associated with a 10 µg/m³ increase in two-day average PM_2.5. Walkability or greenness did not modify the association. However, when stratifying by neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics, smaller PM_2.5 effects were observed in greener areas only among cases who resided in neighborhoods with a higher population density and lower percentages of white residents or residents with a high school diploma. In conclusion, the PM_2.5 effects on cardiovascular mortality were attenuated by higher greenness only in areas with sociodemographic features that are highly correlated with lower socioeconomic status. Previous evidence suggests health benefits linked to neighborhood greenness may be stronger among lower socioeconomic groups. Attenuation of the PM_2.5⁻mortality relationship due to greenness may explain some of this evidence.

Language: en

Keywords

PM2.5; modification; neighborhood greenness; walkability