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Association between the First Occurrence of Asthma and Residential Greenness in Children and Teenagers in Taiwan

Author

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  • Chia-Jung Hsieh

    (Department and Graduate Institute of Public Health, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan)

  • Pei-Ying Yu

    (Department and Graduate Institute of Public Health, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan)

  • Chun-Ju Tai

    (Department and Graduate Institute of Public Health, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan)

  • Rong-Hwa Jan

    (Institute of Medical Science, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan
    Department of Pediatrics, Tzu Chi Hospital Hualien, Hualien 970, Taiwan)

  • Tzai-Hung Wen

    (Department of Geography, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan)

  • Shyang-Woei Lin

    (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 97401, Taiwan)

  • Chun-Chieh Tseng

    (Department and Graduate Institute of Public Health, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97004, Taiwan)

Abstract

Green spaces have benefits but may also increase the risk of allergic disease. This study examined the association between the first occurrence of asthma and greenness exposure in children and teenagers. We conducted a 1:1 matched case-control study matched by sex, age, and the first diagnosis year with 7040 eligible subjects from a systematic sampling cohort database in Taiwan from 2001 to 2013. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) value ≥0.4 was used as the criterion to determine the green space. The green cover images were then transformed to the green coverage rate in the township surrounding the residential areas of the asthma and control subjects. Conditional logistic regression analyses demonstrated that a significantly increased risk of asthma in preschool children was associated with the surrounding greenness after adjusting for urbanization level, frequency of healthcare provider visits, mean township family income, CO, NO x , and PM 2.5 . The risk of asthma occurrence increased significantly with increasing greenness exposure ( p -trend < 0.05). Nevertheless, exposure to the highest greenness levels (81–100%) was not associated with a significantly higher risk of asthma occurrence than was exposure to the lowest values (0–20%) of greenness. This study suggests that green space design should consider more effective methods of reducing the allergy impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Chia-Jung Hsieh & Pei-Ying Yu & Chun-Ju Tai & Rong-Hwa Jan & Tzai-Hung Wen & Shyang-Woei Lin & Chun-Chieh Tseng, 2019. "Association between the First Occurrence of Asthma and Residential Greenness in Children and Teenagers in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:12:p:2076-:d:239110
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    Cited by:

    1. Giulia Squillacioti & Valeria Bellisario & Stefano Levra & Pavilio Piccioni & Roberto Bono, 2019. "Greenness Availability and Respiratory Health in a Population of Urbanised Children in North-Western Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-11, December.

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