Association of residential greenness with the risk of metabolic syndrome in Chinese older adults: a longitudinal cohort study

J Endocrinol Invest. 2023 Feb;46(2):327-335. doi: 10.1007/s40618-022-01904-5. Epub 2022 Aug 25.

Abstract

Aims: We aimed to investigate the association between residential greenness and MetS in older Chinese adults.

Methods: Longitudinal data on sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle were collected from the Shenzhen Healthy Ageing Research (SHARE) cohort. Greenness exposure was assessed through satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in the 250-m, 500-m, and 1250-m radius around the residential address for each participant. MetS was defined by standard guidelines for the Chinese population.

Results: A total of 49,893 older Chinese adults with a mean age of 70.96 (SD = 5.26) years were included in the study. In the fully adjusted models, participants who lived in the highest quartile of NDVI250-m, NDVI500-m, and NDVI1250-m had a 15% (odds ratio, OR = 0.85, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.80-0.90), 12% (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.83-0.93), and 11% (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.85-0.95) lower incidence of MetS, respectively, than those living in the lowest quartile (all p-trend < 0.01). Interactions and subgroup analyses showed that age, sex, smoking status, and drinking status were significant effect modifiers (p-interaction for all NDVI < 0.05).

Conclusions: Residential greenness is associated with a lower risk of MetS in Chinese older adults, especially for young older adults, females, non-smokers, and non-drinkers.

Keywords: Cohort study; Epidemiology; Healthy longevity; Metabolic syndrome; Residential greenness.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • China / epidemiology
  • Cohort Studies
  • East Asian People
  • Female
  • Healthy Aging
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Metabolic Syndrome* / epidemiology
  • Metabolic Syndrome* / etiology
  • Middle Aged