The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia

Wilma L. Zijlema; Ania Stasinska; David Blake; Mila Dirgawati; Leon Flicker; Bu B. Yeap; Jonathan Golledge; Graeme J. Hankey; Mark Nieuwenhuijsen; Jane Heyworth

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075

The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia

Wilma L. Zijlema, Ania Stasinska, David Blake, Mila Dirgawati, Leon Flicker, Bu B. Yeap, Jonathan Golledge, Graeme J. Hankey, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Jane Heyworth

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIM: Natural outdoor environments may mitigate harmful environmental factors associated with city living. We studied the longitudinal relationship between natural ('green and blue') outdoor environments and mortality in a cohort of older men residing in Perth, Western Australia.

METHODS: We studied a cohort of 9218 men aged 65 years and older from the Health In Men Study. Participants were recruited in 1996-99 and followed until 2014, during which 5889 deaths were observed. Time-varying residential surrounding greenness based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and the number and size of parks, natural space and waterbodies were defined to characterize the natural outdoor environment. All-cause non-accidental and cause-specific mortality was ascertained with the Western Australian Data Linkage System. The association of the natural outdoor environment with mortality was examined using Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS: After adjusting for age, men living in the highest quartile of cumulative average surrounding greenness had a 9% lower rate of all-cause non-accidental mortality (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84, 0.98; p = .013) compared with those in the lowest quartile. This association was no longer present after adjustment for other risk factors, especially level of education. Living within 500 m of one (vs. no) natural space was associated with decreased mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.86, 1.00; p = .046), but no association with mortality was found for two or more natural spaces compared to none and for parks. Associations between waterbodies and mortality were inconsistent, showing non-linear beneficial and harmful associations.

CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study of older men residing in Perth, we observed evidence suggestive of an association between access to natural spaces and decreased mortality. Associations between surrounding greenness and mortality seemed to be confounded by level of education, and associations with waterbodies were complex and need to be studied further.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	430-436
Number of pages	7
Journal	Environment International
Volume	125
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075
Publication status	Published - Apr 2019

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Health in Men & Air Quality Study - HIMAQs
Heyworth, J. (Investigator 01), Hinwood, A. (Investigator 02), Nieuwenhuijsen, M. (Investigator 03), McCaul, K. (Investigator 04), Yeap, B. (Investigator 05) & Brunkereef, B. (Investigator 06)
NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council
1/01/11 → 31/12/15
Project: Research
Predicting Health & Disease in Australian Men Over the Age of 80 Years - the Health in Men Study
Flicker, L. (Investigator 01), De Almeida, O. (Investigator 02), Hankey, G. (Investigator 03) & McCaul, K. (Investigator 04)
NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council
1/01/10 → 31/12/12
Project: Research
Hormonal Predictors of Cardiovascular Outcomes and Mortality in Ageing Men: The Role of Androgens and the IGF System
Yeap, B. (Chief Investigator), Flicker, L. (Chief Investigator), Chubb, S. (Chief Investigator) & Ho, K. (Chief Investigator)
NHMRC Project Grants
1/01/08 → 31/12/08
Project: Research

Cite this

Zijlema, W. L., Stasinska, A., Blake, D., Dirgawati, M., Flicker, L., Yeap, B. B., Golledge, J., Hankey, G. J., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., & Heyworth, J. (2019). The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia. Environment International, 125, 430-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075

@article{4c34296e2a6b4f5a8ffb2973882074ee,

title = "The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia",

abstract = "BACKGROUND/AIM: Natural outdoor environments may mitigate harmful environmental factors associated with city living. We studied the longitudinal relationship between natural ('green and blue') outdoor environments and mortality in a cohort of older men residing in Perth, Western Australia.METHODS: We studied a cohort of 9218 men aged 65 years and older from the Health In Men Study. Participants were recruited in 1996-99 and followed until 2014, during which 5889 deaths were observed. Time-varying residential surrounding greenness based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and the number and size of parks, natural space and waterbodies were defined to characterize the natural outdoor environment. All-cause non-accidental and cause-specific mortality was ascertained with the Western Australian Data Linkage System. The association of the natural outdoor environment with mortality was examined using Cox regression analysis.RESULTS: After adjusting for age, men living in the highest quartile of cumulative average surrounding greenness had a 9% lower rate of all-cause non-accidental mortality (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84, 0.98; p = .013) compared with those in the lowest quartile. This association was no longer present after adjustment for other risk factors, especially level of education. Living within 500 m of one (vs. no) natural space was associated with decreased mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.86, 1.00; p = .046), but no association with mortality was found for two or more natural spaces compared to none and for parks. Associations between waterbodies and mortality were inconsistent, showing non-linear beneficial and harmful associations.CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study of older men residing in Perth, we observed evidence suggestive of an association between access to natural spaces and decreased mortality. Associations between surrounding greenness and mortality seemed to be confounded by level of education, and associations with waterbodies were complex and need to be studied further.",

keywords = "URBAN GREEN SPACE, RESIDENTIAL GREEN, HEALTH, POPULATION, PROXIMITY, EXPOSURE, POLLUTION, CITIES, COHORT, AIR",

author = "Zijlema, {Wilma L.} and Ania Stasinska and David Blake and Mila Dirgawati and Leon Flicker and Yeap, {Bu B.} and Jonathan Golledge and Hankey, {Graeme J.} and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen and Jane Heyworth",

year = "2019",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075",

language = "English",

volume = "125",

pages = "430--436",

journal = "Environment International",

issn = "0160-4120",

publisher = "Pergamon",

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Zijlema, WL, Stasinska, A, Blake, D, Dirgawati, M, Flicker, L , Yeap, BB, Golledge, J, Hankey, GJ, Nieuwenhuijsen, M & Heyworth, J 2019, 'The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia', Environment International, vol. 125, pp. 430-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075

TY - JOUR

T1 - The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia

AU - Zijlema, Wilma L.

AU - Stasinska, Ania

AU - Blake, David

AU - Dirgawati, Mila

AU - Flicker, Leon

AU - Yeap, Bu B.

AU - Golledge, Jonathan

AU - Hankey, Graeme J.

AU - Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

AU - Heyworth, Jane

PY - 2019/4

Y1 - 2019/4

N2 - BACKGROUND/AIM: Natural outdoor environments may mitigate harmful environmental factors associated with city living. We studied the longitudinal relationship between natural ('green and blue') outdoor environments and mortality in a cohort of older men residing in Perth, Western Australia.METHODS: We studied a cohort of 9218 men aged 65 years and older from the Health In Men Study. Participants were recruited in 1996-99 and followed until 2014, during which 5889 deaths were observed. Time-varying residential surrounding greenness based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and the number and size of parks, natural space and waterbodies were defined to characterize the natural outdoor environment. All-cause non-accidental and cause-specific mortality was ascertained with the Western Australian Data Linkage System. The association of the natural outdoor environment with mortality was examined using Cox regression analysis.RESULTS: After adjusting for age, men living in the highest quartile of cumulative average surrounding greenness had a 9% lower rate of all-cause non-accidental mortality (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84, 0.98; p = .013) compared with those in the lowest quartile. This association was no longer present after adjustment for other risk factors, especially level of education. Living within 500 m of one (vs. no) natural space was associated with decreased mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.86, 1.00; p = .046), but no association with mortality was found for two or more natural spaces compared to none and for parks. Associations between waterbodies and mortality were inconsistent, showing non-linear beneficial and harmful associations.CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study of older men residing in Perth, we observed evidence suggestive of an association between access to natural spaces and decreased mortality. Associations between surrounding greenness and mortality seemed to be confounded by level of education, and associations with waterbodies were complex and need to be studied further.

AB - BACKGROUND/AIM: Natural outdoor environments may mitigate harmful environmental factors associated with city living. We studied the longitudinal relationship between natural ('green and blue') outdoor environments and mortality in a cohort of older men residing in Perth, Western Australia.METHODS: We studied a cohort of 9218 men aged 65 years and older from the Health In Men Study. Participants were recruited in 1996-99 and followed until 2014, during which 5889 deaths were observed. Time-varying residential surrounding greenness based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and the number and size of parks, natural space and waterbodies were defined to characterize the natural outdoor environment. All-cause non-accidental and cause-specific mortality was ascertained with the Western Australian Data Linkage System. The association of the natural outdoor environment with mortality was examined using Cox regression analysis.RESULTS: After adjusting for age, men living in the highest quartile of cumulative average surrounding greenness had a 9% lower rate of all-cause non-accidental mortality (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84, 0.98; p = .013) compared with those in the lowest quartile. This association was no longer present after adjustment for other risk factors, especially level of education. Living within 500 m of one (vs. no) natural space was associated with decreased mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.86, 1.00; p = .046), but no association with mortality was found for two or more natural spaces compared to none and for parks. Associations between waterbodies and mortality were inconsistent, showing non-linear beneficial and harmful associations.CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study of older men residing in Perth, we observed evidence suggestive of an association between access to natural spaces and decreased mortality. Associations between surrounding greenness and mortality seemed to be confounded by level of education, and associations with waterbodies were complex and need to be studied further.

KW - URBAN GREEN SPACE

KW - RESIDENTIAL GREEN

KW - HEALTH

KW - POPULATION

KW - PROXIMITY

KW - EXPOSURE

KW - POLLUTION

KW - CITIES

KW - COHORT

KW - AIR

U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075

DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.075

M3 - Article

C2 - 30743148

SN - 0160-4120

VL - 125

SP - 430

EP - 436

JO - Environment International

JF - Environment International

ER -

The longitudinal association between natural outdoor environments and mortality in 9218 older men from Perth, Western Australia

Abstract

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Projects

Health in Men & Air Quality Study - HIMAQs

Predicting Health & Disease in Australian Men Over the Age of 80 Years - the Health in Men Study

Hormonal Predictors of Cardiovascular Outcomes and Mortality in Ageing Men: The Role of Androgens and the IGF System

Cite this