Residential greenness and prevalence of chronic kidney disease: Findings from the China National Survey of Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Green space is associated with many health benefits, but evidence concerning the effects on chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been investigated. Using the nationwide cross-sectional study of 47,204 adults from the China National Survey of Chronic Kidney Disease dataset and residential greenness assessed by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), this study evaluated the association between residential greenness and CKD prevalence. An interquartile range increase in NDVI1000m (0.26) was associated with decreased odds of CKD for all participants with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73–0.86). Subgroup analyses demonstrated more apparent inverse associations in younger adults <65 years, male participants, people in higher socio-economic status, as well as people with smoking and alcohol drinking habit. In addition, more apparent inverse associations were found in regions with higher fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration levels, with OR of 0.56 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.65) for higher pollution regions, and OR of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.83, 1.09) for lower pollution regions (P for interaction <0.001). The exposure-response curves captured more apparent declines in OR of CKD when in lower NDVI1000m exposure ranges (<0.6), even controlling for the PM2.5 concentration. Our results indicated that residential greenness might be beneficial for the prevention and control of CKD at the population level, suggesting the positive significance of strengthening green space construction, particularly in regions with low greenness.