Association between Residential Greenness and Incident Delirium : A Prospective Cohort Study in the UK Biobank

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

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Author(s)

  • Mengton Sun
  • Yu Wang
  • Guoxian Li
  • Hanqing Zhao
  • Ze Ma
  • Zhaolong Feng
  • Tongxing Li
  • Qiang Han
  • Na Sun
  • Yueping Shen

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Article number173341
Journal / PublicationScience of the Total Environment
Volume937
Online published24 May 2024
Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2024

Abstract

Background:  Contemporary environmental health investigations have identified green space as an emerging factor with promising prospects for bolstering human well-being. The incidence of delirium increases significantly with age and is fatal. To date, there is no research elucidating the enduring implications of green spaces on the occurrence of delirium. Therefore, we explored the relationship between residential greenness and the incidence of delirium in a large community sample from the UK Biobank.

Methods:  Enrollment of participants spanned from 2006 to 2010. Assessment of residential greenness involved the land coverage percentage of green space within a buffer range of 300 m and 1000 m. The relationship between residential greenness and delirium was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Further, we investigated the potential mediating effects of physical activity, particulate matter (PM) with diameters ≤2.5 (PM2.5), and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Results:  Of 232,678 participants, 3722 participants were diagnosed with delirium during a 13.4-year follow-up period. Compared with participants with green space coverage at a 300 m buffer in the lowest quartile (Q1), those in the highest quartile (Q4) had 15 % (Hazard ratio [HR] = 0.85, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.77, 0.94) lower risk of incident delirium. As for the 1000 m buffer, those in Q4 had a 16 % (HR = 0.84, 95 % CI: 0.76, 0.93) lower risk of incident delirium. The relationship between green space in the 300 m buffer and delirium was mediated partially by physical activity (2.07 %) and PM2.5(49.90 %). Comparable findings were noted for the green space percentage within the 1000 m buffer.

Conclusions:  Our results revealed that long-term exposure to residential greenness was related to a lower risk of delirium. Air pollution and physical activity exerted a significant mediating influence in shaping this association. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.

Research Area(s)

  • Residential greenness, Delirium, Mediation effect, Prospective study, Air pollution, Physical activity

Citation Format(s)

Association between Residential Greenness and Incident Delirium: A Prospective Cohort Study in the UK Biobank. / He, Qida; Sun, Mengton; Wang, Yu et al.
In: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 937, 173341, 10.08.2024.

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review