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Socioeconomic Disparities in Hypertension by Levels of Green Space Availability: A Cross-Sectional Study in Philadelphia, PA
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Socioeconomic Disparities in Hypertension by Levels of Green Space Availability: A Cross-Sectional Study in Philadelphia, PA

Celina Koh, Michelle C Kondo, Heather Rollins and Usama Bilal
International journal of environmental research and public health, v 19(4), p2037
11 Feb 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042037
PMID: 35206224
Featured in Collection :   Research Supported by Drexel Libraries' OA Programs
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042037View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access via Drexel Libraries Read and Publish ProgramCC BY V4.0,  Open

Abstract

health equity green spaces socioeconomic status Philadelphia Hypertension
Green spaces have been proposed as equigenic factors, potentially mitigating health disparities. We used data from the 3887 participants residing in Philadelphia who participated in the Public Health Management Corporation's Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey in 2014-2015 to assess whether socioeconomic disparities in hypertension are modified by availability of neighborhood-level green spaces. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured using individual-level education and neighborhood-level median household income. Green space availability was measured using surrounding percent tree canopy cover, mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and proximity to nearest park. Using logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, we found that adults with higher educational attainment had significantly lower levels of hypertension (OR = 0.63, 0.57, and 0.36 for high school, some college, and college graduates, respectively, as compared to those with less than high school education), and this pattern was similar for median household income (higher prevalence in lower income areas). We found no significant interaction between education and percent tree canopy cover ( = 0.83), meaning that educational disparities in hypertension were similar across all levels of green space availability. These results held when using mean NDVI or distance to nearest park as availability measures, or when considering neighborhood-level median household income as the socioeconomic measure, although the specific patterns and significance of interactions varied by exposure and modifier. While socioeconomic disparities in hypertension are strong for adults residing in Philadelphia, green spaces did not seem to modify them.

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11 Record Views
8 citations in Web of Science
9 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Environmental Sciences
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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