Abstract
Increasing research suggested that green spaces are associated with many health benefits, but evidence for the quantitative relationship between green spaces and mortality attributable to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) is limited. We collected disease-specific mortality and PM2.5 data for a period of 4 years (2015–2018) along with green space data for an 8-year duration (2010–2017) in 31 provincial-level administrative regions of China. First, this study used the Integrated Exposure–Response model to estimate the mortality of four diseases attributable to PM2.5, including chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), lung cancer (LC), ischemic heart disease (IHD), and cerebrovascular disease (CBVD). Then we performed linear regression and mixed-effects model to investigate the counteracting effect of green spaces on death caused by PM2.5 exposure. The differences in impacts among the Eastern, Central, and Western regions were explored using stratified analysis. The most significant results from linear regression analysis indicated that per 100 km2 of green spaces increase, there was a decreased total mortality (10–5) (COPD, LC, IHD, and CBVD) attributable to PM2.5 by − 4.012 [95% confidence interval (CI): − 5.535, − 2.488], while the reduction by mixed-linear regression analysis was − 2.702/105 (95% CI = − 3.645, − 1.759). Of all hysteresis analyses, the effect estimates (β) at lag3 and lag4 were the largest. The effect of green spaces was more advantageous when targeting CBVD and the Eastern region. We found a negative correlation between green space exposure and mortality attributable to PM2.5, which can provide further support for city planners, government personnel, and others to build a healthier city and achieve national health goals.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- CI:
-
Confidence interval
- CNY:
-
Chinese Yuan
- COPD:
-
Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases
- CBVD:
-
Cerebrovascular disease
- GDP:
-
Gross domestic product
- IHD:
-
Ischemic heart disease
- LC:
-
Lung cancer
- NDVI:
-
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
- PM2.5 :
-
Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less
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The authors thank Xiaotong Zhang for her help in directing the map making and all referees for their help in improving this paper.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Chuanyu Zhao: conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, writing—original draft, visualization. Wanyue Wang: software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writing—original draft, visualization. Haoxuan Wen: software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft. Zenghui Huang: investigation, resources, data curation. Xiaodie Wang: investigation, resources, data curation. Kuizhuang Jiao: investigation, resources, data curation. Qihao Chen: investigation, resources, data curation. Huan Feng: methodology, investigation, resources, data curation. Yizhe Wang: resources, data curation, visualization. Jingling Liao: writing—review and editing. Lu Ma: conceptualization, writing—review and editing, supervision, project administration. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Zhao, C., Wang, W., Wen, H. et al. Effects of green spaces on alleviating mortality attributable to PM2.5 in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 14402–14412 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23097-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23097-3