Examining the Benefits of Greenness on Reducing Suicide Mortality Rate: A Global Ecological Study

Frontiers in Public Health

article

Aji Kusumaning Asri¹  Hui-Ju Tsai²  Pei-Yi Wong³  Hsiao-Yun Lee⁴  Wen-Chi Pan⁵  Yue-Leon Guo⁶  Chi-Shin Wu⁸  Huey-Jen Su³  Chih-Da Wu¹  John D. Spengler⁹ 

[1] Department of Geomatics, National Cheng Kung University;Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes;Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University;Department of Leisure Industry and Health Promotion, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences;Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University;Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University ,(NTU) and NTU Hospital;National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes;Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University;Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

关键词: greenness exposure;    Normalized Difference Vegetation Index;    suicide mortality;    global analysis;    ecological study;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2022.902480

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Objective This study applied an ecological-based analysis aimed to evaluate on a global scale the association between greenness exposure and suicide mortality. Methods Suicide mortality data provided by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were employed. The generalized additive mixed model was applied to evaluate with an adjustment of covariates the association between greenness and suicide mortality. Sensitivity tests and positive-negative controls also were used to examine less overt insights. Subgroup analyses were then conducted to investigate the effects of greenness on suicide mortality among various conditions. Results The main finding of this study indicates a negative association between greenness exposure and suicide mortality, as greenness significantly decreases the risk of suicide mortality per interquartile unit increment of NDVI (relative risk = 0.69, 95%CI: 0.59–0.81). Further, sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings. Subgroup analyses also showed a significant negative association between greenness and suicide mortality for various stratified factors, such as sex, various income levels, urbanization levels, etc. Conclusions Greenness exposure may contribute to a reduction in suicide mortality. It is recommended that policymakers and communities increase environmental greenness in order to mitigate the global health burden of suicide.

【 授权许可】

CC BY