Background

There is some data suggesting that residential greenspace may protect against high blood pressure in urbanized areas, but there is no evidence of effects on hypotension, in less urbanized areas, and in idiosyncratic geographic contexts such as mountain valleys.

Objectives

The current study aimed to investigate the associations between residential greenspace and blood pressure in an alpine valley in Austria.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 555 adults living in the Lower Inn Valley, Austria. Several definitions of blood pressure were employed: continuously-measured systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), doctor-diagnosed hyper- and hypotension, and high- and low blood pressure medication use. Greenspace metrics considered were: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), and tree cover as measures of surrounding greenness in circular buffers of 100 m, 300 m, 500 m, and 1000 m around the home; distance to different types of structured green space; and having a domestic garden and a balcony. Relationships were examined across different definitions of blood pressure and greenspace and evaluated for potential effect modification by demographic factors, presence of a domestic garden/balcony, adiposity, and traffic sensitivity.

Results

Higher overall greenness was associated with 30–40% lower odds of hyper/hypotension and 2–3 mm Hg lower SBP. Similar pattern was revealed for tree cover, however, associations with hypertension were less consistent across buffers, and SBP and DBP were lower only in association with greenness in the 100-m buffer. Having a domestic garden also seemed protective of high DBP. Residing near to forests, agricultural land, or urban green spaces was not related to blood pressure. Higher NDVI_500-m was stronger associated with lower SBP in those having a domestic garden, while the effect on DBP was stronger in overweight/obese participants.

Conclusion

These findings support the idea that greenspace should be considered as protective of both high and low blood pressure, however, underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently understood.

中文翻译：

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绿地似乎可以保护高山山谷居民的高血压和低血压

背景

有一些数据表明，居住的绿地可以预防城市化地区的高血压，但没有证据表明在城市化程度较低的地区以及在特殊的地理环境（例如山谷）中对低血压有影响。

目标

当前的研究旨在调查奥地利一个高山山谷中居民绿地与血压之间的关联。

方法

我们对居住在奥地利Lower Inn Valley的555名成年人的代表性样本进行了横断面调查。使用了几种血压定义：连续测量的收缩压（SBP）和舒张压（DBP），医生诊断的高血压和低血压以及高低血压药物的使用。所考虑的绿地度量标准包括：归一化植被指数（NDVI），土壤调整植被指数（SAVI）和树木覆盖率，用于测量房屋周围100 m，300 m，500 m和1000 m圆形缓冲区的周围绿色程度；距不同类型的结构化绿色空间的距离；并有一个家庭花园和一个阳台。检查了血压和绿地的不同定义之间的关系，并评估了人口统计学因素对潜在影响的修正，

结果

总体绿色度越高，高血压/低血压几率降低30-40％，SBP降低2-3 mm Hg。树木的覆盖率也显示出相似的模式，但是，在缓冲区之间，与高血压的相关性不太一致，并且仅与100 m缓冲区中的绿色相关，SBP和DBP较低。拥有家庭花园似乎也可以保护高DBP。居住在森林，农田或城市绿地附近与血压无关。在有家庭花园的居民中，较高的NDVI _500-m与较低的SBP关联更强，而对超重/肥胖参与者的DBP的影响更大。

结论

这些发现支持了绿色空间应被视为对高血压和低血压都有保护作用的观点，但是，对潜在机制的了解仍然不够。