Community greenness and neurobehavioral health in children and adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Neighborhood greenness appears to be beneficial to human health. However, there are few studies on the relationship between greenness of children's residential communities and their neurobehavioral health.


OBJECTIVE
In this cross-sectional study, we examined the association between neighborhood greenness of children's residential area and their neurobehavioral health.


METHODS
We used a population-representative sample of school children (n = 1817) from 2012 and 2013 in South Korea. Parents or guardians of children completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess their children's neurobehavioral health. As a measurement for greenness, the modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) at a 30-m resolution was retrieved from the Landsat satellite data operated by NASA. The MSAVI values were categorized into tertiles (low, moderate, high greenness) and each child was assigned the mean MSAVI within a 1.6-km radius of residence. We applied survey regressions of the CBCL transformed scores on the 3 levels of greenness, controlling for age, sex, physical activity, monthly family income, exposure to second-hand smoke, exposure to NO2, and blood lead level.


RESULTS
High greenness was associated with a lower Total CBCL score compared to low greenness (-2.33, 95% CI, -4.10 to -0.56). Externalizing Behavior showed a slightly stronger association with greenness than did Internalizing Behavior. The inverse relationship with greenness was strongest for Attention Problems (-1.32; 95% CI: -2.58, -0.06). The magnitudes of the association were strongest when the buffer distance was 1600 m.


CONCLUSIONS
Greenness of residential neighborhood was associated with lower problematic behavior scores in children, especially aggressive behaviors and attention problems.
['Lee|Mihye|M|', 'Kim|Suejin|S|', 'Ha|Mina|M|']
D000293:Adolescent D002648:Child D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008603:Mental Health D056910:Republic of Korea D012111:Residence Characteristics
Greenness CBCL MSAVI Children's neurodevelopment GIS NDVI