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With the world's population steadily shifting toward urban living, children's engagement with the natural environment seems to be diminishing. This raises significant concerns about the influence of urban greenspaces on the cardiovascular health of children. To assess the association between urban greenspaces exposure and blood pressure (BP) in Chinese primary schoolchildren. This prospective cohort study used data from the Children's growth environment, lifestyle, physical, and mental health development (COHERENCE) project in Guangzhou, China. Participants included 164,853 primary schoolchildren starting from 2016/17 to 2019/20 academic year. We assessed the surrounding greenspaces at home and school by using Sentinel-2 satellite data on the normalized difference vegetation index. Prehypertension and hypertension status were defined with BP above 90th to less than the 95th percentile, at or above the 95th percentile, respectively. The association of surrounding greenness with children's BP levels and risk of prehypertension/hypertension were examined using linear mixed-effects models and Cox proportional hazards model. Among 164,853 eligible children aged 7.21 (0.74) years, 89,190 (54.1%) were boys. Our results showed that average systolic and diastolic BP increased by 0.48 and 0.42 standard deviations, respectively, over the 3-year follow-up. We identified 23,225 new cases of prehypertension and 35,067 of hypertension status. An interquartile range increase both in home-, school- and home-school NDVI 100m was significantly associated with a reduction of 0.018–0.037 in BP z-scores and a 2.7%–7.6% lower risk of hypertension. Additionally, family socioeconomic status modified the impact of home-school greenness on BP levels. Air pollution exhibited mediating effects solely in school-greenness-BP associations, while physical activity and children's BMI mainly mediated the relationships between home-greenness and BP. The findings of this large cohort study suggest that surrounding greenspaces are associated with lower BP levels and a decreased risk of prehypertension and hypertension in Chinese schoolchildren. [Display omitted] • Location-specific greenspaces (home, school, and combined) were assessed. • Greenspaces were adverse associated with high blood pressure status. • Air pollution, physical activity, and BMI may mediate above these associations. • Location-specific greenness may emphasize distinct pathways related to BP. • Children with lower socioeconomic status obtain more benefit from greenspaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution exposures are increasingly suspected to influence the development of childhood adiposity, especially focusing on outdoor exposure, but few studies investigated indoor exposure and childhood obesity. We aimed to examine the association between exposure to multiple indoor air pollutants and childhood obesity in Chinese schoolchildren. In 2019, we recruited 6499 children aged 6–12 years from five Chinese elementary schools in Guangzhou, China. We measured age-sex-specific body mass index z score (z-BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) on standard procedures. Four different indoor air pollution (IAP) exposures, including cooking oil fumes (COFs), home decoration, secondhand smoke (SHS), and incense burning, were collected by questionnaire and then converted into an IAP exposure index with four categories. Association between indoor air pollutants and childhood overweight/obesity as well as four obese anthropometric indices were assessed by logistic regression models and multivariable linear regression models, respectively. Children exposed to ≥3 types of indoor air pollutants had higher z-BMI (coefficient [β]:0.142, 95% confidence interval [CI]:0.011–0.274) and higher risk of overweight/obesity (odd ratio [OR]:1.27, 95%CI:1.01–1.60). And a dose-response relationship was discovered between the IAP exposure index and z-BMI as well as overweight/obesity (p for trend <0.05). We also found that exposure to SHS and COFs was positively associated with z-BMI and overweight/obesity (p < 0.05). Moreover, there was a significant interaction between SHS exposure and COFs on the higher risk of overweight/obesity among schoolchildren. Boys appear more susceptible to multiple indoor air pollutants than girls. Indoor air pollution exposures were positively associated with higher obese anthropometric indices and increased odds of overweight/obesity in Chinese schoolchildren. More well-designed cohort studies are needed to verify our results. • A total of 6753 schoolchildren aged 6–12 years from Guangzhou, China was included. • Multiple indoor air pollution exposures were positively associated with childhood obesity and obese anthropometric indices. • Secondhand smoke exposure interacts withcooking oil fumes exposure in association with childhood overweight/obesity. • Multiple indoor air pollution exposures for boys have higher z-BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research has been conducted on the impact of urban Green and blue spaces (GBS) on mental health. However, there is a dearth of studies examining the potential influence of GBS on Emotion and behavior problems (EBP) in youth populations. This study seeks to address this research gap by examining the association between GBS exposure and EBP in youths, utilizing a large population-based survey. Exposure indicators were derived for each participant, taking into account the 1-m resolution land coverage percentage measurements at their residential and school locations, with buffer sizes of 500m and 800m. The study employed the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a measurement to EBP. To investigate this relationship, a Poisson linear mixed-effects model with comprehensive adjustment was utilized. Stratified analyses were conducted, taking into account demographic variables, while sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the reliability of the findings. The primary analysis encompassed a sample of 172,490 individuals, with an average age of 10.2 (standard deviation = 2.99), of whom 55.8% were male. Among young individuals residing within a 500-m radius of residential green spaces (GS), those in the second and third tertiles experienced a 5.0% and 7.6% decrease in the risk of developing total difficulties respectively, compared to those in the first tertile. Exposure to blue spaces (BS) around the residence yielded comparable results, with an AOR of 0.896 (95% CI: 0.866, 0.928) for the second tertile and an AOR of 0.991 (95% CI: 0.879, 0.943) for the third tertile, compared to the first tertile. The decrease in EBPs may also be linked to the joint effect of GS and BS. Young individuals were exposed to GS or BS, as well as the higher level of GS in conjunction with comparable BS, exhibited an inverse correlation with self-reported EBPs. • Limited evidence exists regarding the link between GBS and EBP in youths, primarily due to methodological challenges. • When youths are exposed to green or blue spaces, there is a decrease in self-reported EBPs. • A higher level of GS combined with an equivalent amount of BS has been associated with a decrease in the TD score. • The effect bring by GBS is critical for promoting mental health in human and planetary health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]