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Residential Surrounding Greenness, Self-Rated Health and Interrelations with Aspects of Neighborhood Environment and Social Relations

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Abstract

Previous research suggests that green environments positively influence health. Several underlying mechanisms have been discussed; one of them is facilitation of social interaction. Further, greener neighborhoods may appear more aesthetic, contributing to satisfaction and well-being. Aim of this study was to analyze the association of residential surrounding greenness with self-rated health, using data from 4480 women and men aged 45–75 years that participated in the German population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study. We further aimed to explore the relationships of greenness and self-rated health with the neighborhood environment and social relations. Surrounding greenness was measured using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100 m around participants’ residence. As a result, we found that with higher greenness, poor self-rated health decreased (adjusted OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82–0.98; per 0.1 increase in NDVI), while neighborhood satisfaction (1.41, 1.23–1.61) and neighborhood social capital (1.22, 1.12–1.32) increased. Further, we observed inverse associations of neighborhood satisfaction (0.70, 0.52–0.94), perceived safety (0.36, 0.22–0.60), social satisfaction (0.43, 0.31–0.58), and neighborhood social capital (0.53, 0.44–0.64) with poor self-rated health. These results underline the importance of incorporating green elements into neighborhoods for health-promoting urban development strategies.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to all study participants and to the dedicated personnel of the study center and data management center of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study. We thank the city councils of Bochum, Essen, and Mülheim, Germany, for providing data. We further thank Birgit Sattler from the University of Duisburg-Essen for GIS counseling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Urban Epidemiology (CUE), Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IMIBE), University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Germany

    Ester Orban, Robynne Sutcliffe & Susanne Moebus

  2. Institute for Medical Sociology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Nico Dragano

  3. Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IMIBE), University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Karl-Heinz Jöckel & Susanne Moebus

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  1. Ester Orban
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  2. Robynne Sutcliffe
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Correspondence to Ester Orban.

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The study was funded by the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation, Germany [Chairman: M. Nixdorf; Past Chairman: Dr. Jur. G. Schmidt (deceased)]. The study was also supported by grants from the German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; ER 155/6-1, ER 155/6-2, SI 236/8-1 and SI 236/9-1) and the Kulturstiftung Essen, Germany.

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Orban, E., Sutcliffe, R., Dragano, N. et al. Residential Surrounding Greenness, Self-Rated Health and Interrelations with Aspects of Neighborhood Environment and Social Relations. J Urban Health 94, 158–169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0112-3

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