Cartanyà-Hueso À, de Celis Alonso B, Hidalgo Tobón SS, Miranda Lora AL, Klünder Klünder M, López Martínez B, Dies Suárez P, Barragán Pérez E, So PW, Delgado-Saborit JM. Cross-sectional evaluation of the association between greenness and cognitive performance in Mexican pre-pubertal boys.
Environ Res 2023;
237:116968. [PMID:
37625541 DOI:
10.1016/j.envres.2023.116968]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Evidence shows that greenspace exposure benefits children's health and cognitive development. However, evidence assessing this association in young children in low- and middle-income economies is scarce.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between exposure to greenness and cognitive performance in pre-pubertal boys living in Mexico City.
METHODS
Cross-sectional study using data from 144 boys aged 6-11 years living in Mexico City in 2017 and enrolled in the "MetCog" study. Cognitive performance was evaluated through selected Wechsler Scale for Intelligence in Children Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and Neuropsychological Assessment of Children (Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil, ENI) tests. Exposure to greenness was assessed through Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at 300, 500, 1500, 2000, and 3000 m buffer zones from children's residences. Multiple linear regression analysis was undertaken to assess associations between cognitive performance and greenness (aβ) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and adjusted for potential confounding variables. Significance was set at q < 0.05 after False Discovery Rate (FDR) correction.
RESULTS
A positive association was found between the NDVI Interquartile Range (IQR) at 2000 m and the WISC-IV block design test score (aβ 2000 = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.31, 2.06; q < 0.05), which assesses perceptual reasoning. Positive associations were found with NDVI IQR at 1500 m and WISC-IV block design (aβ1500 = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.14, 1.86) and matrix reasoning (aβ1500 = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.06, 1.61) scores, but neither survived FDR correction. No significant associations were found between NDVI IQR at any buffer size with other WISC-IV and ENI task scores.
CONCLUSIONS
Greater exposure to greenness was associated with higher perceptual reasoning skills in 144 pre-pubertal boys living in Mexico City. Thus, urban planning should consider increasing vegetation in megacities, especially in neighbourhoods with high percentages of young children.
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