Objective Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. In recent years, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in China has continued to rise, and cardiovascular health has become a major public health issue. Green space can improve residents’ cardiovascular health through various ways, such as reducing air pollution, regulating temperature, and providing an ideal place for physical exercise and social interaction, and its health effects have become a focus of attention and research. However, current researches mainly focus on developed countries and regions, and most of them involve the study of a single indicator of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the impact of multiple green space elements on cardiovascular health at the community level in China.
Method This research takes Chang’an District, Xi’an City, China as an example, and adopts the information about cardiovascular disease patients reported in Chang’an District by a general hospital during the period from 2019 to 2022 as the basic data. Firstly, based on domestic and foreign literature, the research selects relevant green space indicators. Secondly, the research obtains basic research data through field research and government data. Thirdly, the research eliminates irrelevant factors through the correlation test, adopts the multiple linear regression equations to explore the statistical correlation between community green spaces and the cardiovascular health of urban residents from the three aspects of green space scale, green space quality, and green space layout, and discusses the classification of communities with different economic levels. Finally, the research proposes corresponding optimization suggestions based on relevant findings.
Results The data shows that the average age of cardiovascular patients was 68 years old, and the communities where they lived were mostly located next to traffic arteries or in old urban areas, varying greatly in green space. Among them, the number of communities with low socioeconomic level (150) is more than that of those with high socioeconomic level (78). The results show that community green space is related to cardiovascular health. Specifically, the green space ratio of residential areas, the perceived quality of green space, and the proximity of park green space are negatively correlated with prevalence of cardiovascular disease, while the proximity of street green space is positively correlated with prevalence of cardiovascular disease. After analyzing communities with different socioeconomic levels, the research finds that in communities with low socioeconomic level, the perceived quality of green space and the proximity of park green space are significantly correlated with cardiovascular health, and they both have a positive effect on cardiovascular health, while the impact of green space ratio of residential areas and the proximity of street green space is not significant. In communities with high socioeconomic level, the green space ratio of residential areas and the proximity of street green space are significantly correlated with cardiovascular health, among which the green space ratio is negatively correlated with prevalence of cardiovascular disease, while the proximity of street green space is positively correlated with prevalence of cardiovascular disease.
Conclusion Community green space can affect residents’ cardiovascular health in terms of scale, quality, and layout. Urban planners should focus on the health benefits of green space, and it is necessary to incorporate green space into research and planning to improve the cardiovascular health of urban residents. Not all green spaces are beneficial to cardiovascular health. For example, green spaces near streets with high pollution levels can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is necessary to improve community green spaces based on the different impacts of green space scale, quality, and layout on cardiovascular health in combination with residents' needs, and guide residents away from green spaces near pollution sources. In addition, green space environments vary within communities with different socioeconomic levels, and have different impacts on people living therein. Planning needs to appropriately channel green resources toward low-income groups to ensure equal in access to green spaces for vulnerable groups.
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