Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies (BRISPO), Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
Hasselt University, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO), Mol, Belgium; Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), 2650, Edegem, Belgium.
Health Place. 2024 Sep;89:103342. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103342. Epub 2024 Sep 4.
Emerging evidence points to the beneficial role of greenspace exposure in promoting cardiovascular health. Most studies have evaluated such associations with conventional cardiovascular endpoints such as mortality, morbidity, or macrovascular markers. In comparison, the microvasculature, a crucial compartment of the vascular system where early subclinical signs of cardiovascular problems appear, has not been studied in association with greenspace exposure. The current study assessed the association between surrounding greenness and microvascular status, as assessed by retinal vessel diameters.
This study included a sample of healthy adults (n = 114 and 18-65 years old) residing in three European cities [Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), and London (UK)]. The exposures to greenspace at the home and work/school locations were characterized as average surrounding greenness [normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)] within buffers of 100 m, 300 m, and 500 m. The central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE) were calculated from fundus pictures taken at three different time points. We developed linear mixed-effect models to estimate the association of greenspace exposure with indicators of retinal microvasculature, adjusted for relevant individual and area-level covariates.
We observed the most robust associations with CRVE. Higher levels of greenspace at work/school were associated with smaller retinal venules [(seasonal NDVI) 300m: 3.85, 95%CI -6.67,-1.03; 500m: 5.11, 95%CI -8.04, -2.18]. Findings for surrounding greenness and CRAE were not conclusive.
Our study suggests an association of greenspace exposure with better microvascular status, specifically for retinal venules. Future research is needed to confirm our findings across different contextual settings.
新出现的证据表明，接触绿地对促进心血管健康具有有益作用。大多数研究都评估了绿地暴露与死亡率、发病率或大血管标志物等传统心血管终点之间的关联。相比之下，微血管系统作为心血管问题早期亚临床迹象出现的关键部位，尚未与绿地暴露相关联进行研究。本研究评估了周围绿化与微血管状态之间的关联，微血管状态通过视网膜血管直径进行评估。
这项研究纳入了居住在三个欧洲城市（比利时安特卫普、西班牙巴塞罗那和英国伦敦）的健康成年人样本（n=114 人，年龄在 18-65 岁之间）。家庭和工作/学校地点的绿地暴露情况以 100m、300m 和 500m 缓冲区的平均周围绿化（归一化差异植被指数（NDVI））来描述。在三个不同时间点拍摄眼底照片，计算中央视网膜动脉等效（CRAE）和中央视网膜静脉等效（CRVE）。我们开发了线性混合效应模型，以评估绿地暴露与视网膜微血管指标之间的关联，调整了相关个体和区域水平的协变量。
我们观察到与 CRVE 最具相关性的结果。工作/学校地点的绿地水平较高与较小的视网膜静脉有关[(季节性 NDVI)300m：-6.67，-1.03；500m：-8.04，-2.18]。关于周围绿化与 CRAE 的发现没有明确结论。
本研究表明，绿地暴露与更好的微血管状态有关，特别是对于视网膜静脉。需要进一步的研究来在不同的环境背景下验证我们的发现。
