Studies link the green community to a reduced risk of stroke

“There is a lot of evidence that our natural environment affects our health, and we especially wanted to see it in a stroke,” Aitken said.

The study used records of more than 249,000 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and over who lived in Miami-Dade County in 2010 and 2011. Records were collated with nearby green satellite measurements. “Aitken said.

Researchers adjusted factors such as gender, income, race, and ethnicity. They also took into account whether residents have health factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol that affect the risk of stroke.

People living in the greenest areas have an overall 20% lower risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack, also known as TIA or “ministroke”, when compared to those living in the least green areas. It was.

Specifically, the greenest areas correlated with 26% lower odds for TIA and 16% lower odds for ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke. The odds of hemorrhagic stroke did not decrease by a statistically noteworthy amount.

But overall, the obvious effect of green is noteworthy, Aitken said. He estimated that the increased risk of stroke living in the greenest areas compared to the greenest areas might be comparable to what one would get from developing diabetes.

The study was presented Wednesday at the American Stroke Association’s Virtual International Stroke Conference. It is considered provisional until it is published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Previous studies using the same Medicare data have linked green spaces to a reduced risk of heart disease and heart attack.

Aitken and his colleagues said they couldn’t explain how people spent time outside and how they interacted with the environment. But he said there are several possibilities.

Dr. Elizabeth Jackson agreed.

“If there are walkways and green spaces, it makes sense for most people that people tend to take advantage of them,” said Jackson, a Burj donation professor of cardiovascular disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. .. Jackson, who wasn’t involved in the study, said in a city park near her, “It’s not hard to see many different people walking and running,” and in yoga and aerobics classes. I went outside.

Those who do not have access to such spaces, or who face safety or other barriers to going out, have less opportunity to be physically active, which she called “very important” to their health.

Jackson, who helped write the American Heart Association’s statement on housing and cardiovascular risk in 2020, said green spaces may also provide buffers for issues such as stress and air pollution.

Aitken said the study could help leaders and policy makers think at once about the potential for fighting stroke in large people, not just individuals.

He said it can be difficult to convince many to exercise regularly, stop smoking, and monitor blood sugar and cholesterol. But it guides the city to incorporate more green space and encourages people to spend a little more time in the environment, which will probably affect everyone in the area.

Jackson praises researchers as part of a trend that not only looks at people in isolation, but “thinks about the whole person: where they live, where they work, where they play.” Did.

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