Dataset Information

Sex/Gender Differences in the Association between Residential Green Space and Self-Rated Health-A Sex/Gender-Focused Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT: Though sex/gender is an important social determinant of health, sex/gender inequalities have not been considered comprehensively in environmental health research thus far. The aim of this systematic review was to clarify whether sex/gender theoretical concepts were addressed in studies on the impact of residential green space on self-rated health and whether effect modification by sex/gender was observed. Three electronic databases were searched to identify epidemiological studies on perceived or objective residential green/blue space and self-rated health. Necessary for study inclusion was mentioning at least one keyword for sex/gender in title or abstract, adult study participants and data on self-rated health and on availability and/or use of green/blue spaces. Decisive for study inclusion was consideration of sex/gender differences in the impact of perceived or objective residential green/blue spaces on self-rated health in the analysis and presentation of results. Seven studies were included. They presented an overall positive impact of green space on self-rated health. No consistent sex/gender differences in the impact of green space on self-rated health were found in these studies. However, all studies used a binary operationalization male/female without further theoretical foundation. Research quality could be enhanced by integrating sex/gender-theoretical concepts into study design and interpretation of results.

SUBMITTER: Bolte G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6926795 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sex/Gender Differences in the Association between Residential Green Space and Self-Rated Health-A Sex/Gender-Focused Systematic Review.

Bolte Gabriele G Nanninga Sarah S Dandolo Lisa L

International journal of environmental research and public health 20191130 23

Though sex/gender is an important social determinant of health, sex/gender inequalities have not been considered comprehensively in environmental health research thus far. The aim of this systematic review was to clarify whether sex/gender theoretical concepts were addressed in studies on the impact of residential green space on self-rated health and whether effect modification by sex/gender was observed. Three electronic databases were searched to identify epidemiological studies on perceived o ...[more]

PMID: 31801219

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Project description:BackgroundResidential green space may improve birth outcomes, with prior studies reporting higher birthweight among infants of women living in greener areas. However, results from studies evaluating associations between green space and preterm birth have been mixed. Further, the potential influence of residential proximity to water, or 'blue space', on health has not previously been evaluated.ObjectivesTo evaluate associations between green and blue space and birth outcomes in a coastal area of the northeastern United States.MethodsUsing residential surrounding greenness (measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI]) and proximity to recreational facilities, coastline, and freshwater as measures of green and blue space, we examined associations with preterm birth (PTB), term birthweight, and term small for gestational age (SGA) among 61,640 births in Rhode Island. We evaluated incremental adjustment for socioeconomic and environmental metrics.ResultsIn models adjusted for individual - and neighborhood-level markers of socioeconomic status (SES), an interquartile range (IQR) increase in NDVI was associated with a 12% higher (95% CI: 4, 20%) odds of PTB and, conversely, living within 500 m of a recreational facility was associated with a 7% lower (95% CI: 1, 13%) odds of PTB. These associations were eliminated after further adjustment for town of residence. NDVI was associated with higher birthweight (7.4 g, 95% CI: 0.4-14.4 g) and lower odds of SGA (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.98) when adjusted for individual-level markers of SES, but not when further adjusted for neighborhood SES or town. Living within 500 m of a freshwater body was associated with a higher birthweight of 10.1 g (95% CI: 2.0, 18.2) in fully adjusted models.ConclusionsFindings from this study do not support the hypothesis that residential green space is associated with reduced risk of preterm birth or higher birthweight after adjustment for individual and contextual socioeconomic factors, but variation in results with incremental adjustment raises questions about the optimal degree of control for confounding by markers of SES. We found that living near a freshwater body was associated with higher birthweight. This result is novel and bears further investigation in other settings and populations.

Project description:While general self-referential processes and their neural underpinnings have been extensively investigated with neuroimaging tools, limited data is available on sex differences regarding self- and other-referential processing. To fill this gap, we measured 17 healthy women and men who performed a self- vs. other-appraisal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using gender-stereotypical adjectives. During the self-appraisal task, typical male (e.g., "dominant," "competitive") and female adjectives (e.g., "communicative," "sensitive") were presented and participants were asked whether these adjectives applied to themselves. During the other-appraisal task, a prototypical male (Brad Pitt) and female actor (Julia Roberts) was presented and participants were asked again to judge whether typical male and female adjectives applied to these actors. Regarding self-referential processes, women ascribed significantly more female compared to male traits to themselves. At the same time both women and men indicated a stronger desire to exhibit male over female traits. While fMRI did not detect general sex differences in the self- and other-conditions, some subtle differences were revealed between the sexes: both in right putamen and bilateral amygdala stronger gender-congruent activation was found which was however not associated with behavioral measures like the number of self-ascribed female or male attributes. Furthermore, sex hormone levels showed some associations with brain activation pointing to a different pattern in women and men. Finally, the self- vs. other-condition in general led to stronger activation of the anterior cingulate cortex while the other- vs. self-condition activated the right precuneus more strongly which is in line with previous findings. To conclude, our data lend support for subtle sex differences during processing of stereotypical gender attributes. However, it remains unclear whether such differences have a behavioral relevance. We also point to several limitations of this study including the small sample size and the lack of control for potentially different hormonal states in women.

Dataset Information

Sex/Gender Differences in the Association between Residential Green Space and Self-Rated Health-A Sex/Gender-Focused Systematic Review.

Publications

Sex/Gender Differences in the Association between Residential Green Space and Self-Rated Health-A Sex/Gender-Focused Systematic Review.

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