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Research Article

Green spaces and cognitive development in primary schoolchildren

View ORCID ProfilePayam Dadvand, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Mikel Esnaola, Joan Forns, Xavier Basagaña, Mar Alvarez-Pedrerol, Ioar Rivas, Mónica López-Vicente, Montserrat De Castro Pascual, Jason Su, Michael Jerrett, Xavier Querol, and Jordi Sunyer
  1. aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
  2. bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
  3. cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
  4. dDepartment of Genes and Environment, Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0473, Oslo, Norway;
  5. eDepartment of Geosciences, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-IDEA), 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
  6. fEnvironmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360;
  7. gDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095;
  8. hHospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

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PNAS June 30, 2015 112 (26) 7937-7942; first published June 15, 2015; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503402112
Payam Dadvand
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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  • ORCID record for Payam Dadvand
  • For correspondence: pdadvand@creal.cat
Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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Mikel Esnaola
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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Joan Forns
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
dDepartment of Genes and Environment, Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0473, Oslo, Norway;
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Xavier Basagaña
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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Mar Alvarez-Pedrerol
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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Ioar Rivas
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
eDepartment of Geosciences, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-IDEA), 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
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Mónica López-Vicente
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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Montserrat De Castro Pascual
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
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Jason Su
fEnvironmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360;
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Michael Jerrett
gDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095;
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Xavier Querol
eDepartment of Geosciences, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-IDEA), 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
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Jordi Sunyer
aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
bExperimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
cCiber on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain;
hHospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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  1. Edited by Susan Hanson, Clark University, Worcester, MA, and approved May 15, 2015 (received for review February 18, 2015)

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Significance

Green spaces have a range of health benefits, but little is known in relation to cognitive development in children. This study, based on comprehensive characterization of outdoor surrounding greenness (at home, school, and during commuting) and repeated computerized cognitive tests in schoolchildren, found an improvement in cognitive development associated with surrounding greenness, particularly with greenness at schools. This association was partly mediated by reductions in air pollution. Our findings provide policymakers with evidence for feasible and achievable targeted interventions such as improving green spaces at schools to attain improvements in mental capital at population level.

Abstract

Exposure to green space has been associated with better physical and mental health. Although this exposure could also influence cognitive development in children, available epidemiological evidence on such an impact is scarce. This study aimed to assess the association between exposure to green space and measures of cognitive development in primary schoolchildren. This study was based on 2,593 schoolchildren in the second to fourth grades (7–10 y) of 36 primary schools in Barcelona, Spain (2012–2013). Cognitive development was assessed as 12-mo change in developmental trajectory of working memory, superior working memory, and inattentiveness by using four repeated (every 3 mo) computerized cognitive tests for each outcome. We assessed exposure to green space by characterizing outdoor surrounding greenness at home and school and during commuting by using high-resolution (5 m × 5 m) satellite data on greenness (normalized difference vegetation index). Multilevel modeling was used to estimate the associations between green spaces and cognitive development. We observed an enhanced 12-mo progress in working memory and superior working memory and a greater 12-mo reduction in inattentiveness associated with greenness within and surrounding school boundaries and with total surrounding greenness index (including greenness surrounding home, commuting route, and school). Adding a traffic-related air pollutant (elemental carbon) to models explained 20–65% of our estimated associations between school greenness and 12-mo cognitive development. Our study showed a beneficial association between exposure to green space and cognitive development among schoolchildren that was partly mediated by reduction in exposure to air pollution.

  • neurodevelopment
  • greenness
  • cognition
  • built environment
  • school

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: pdadvand{at}creal.cat.
  • Author contributions: P.D., M.J.N., X.Q., and J. Sunyer designed research; M.J.N., J.F., M.A.-P., I.R., M.L.-V., M.D.C.P., X.Q., and J. Sunyer performed research; M.E., X.B., J. Su, and M.J. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; P.D., M.E., and X.B. analyzed data; and P.D. and J. Sunyer wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1503402112/-/DCSupplemental.

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Green spaces and cognitive development in children
Payam Dadvand, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Mikel Esnaola, Joan Forns, Xavier Basagaña, Mar Alvarez-Pedrerol, Ioar Rivas, Mónica López-Vicente, Montserrat De Castro Pascual, Jason Su, Michael Jerrett, Xavier Querol, Jordi Sunyer
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2015, 112 (26) 7937-7942; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1503402112

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Green spaces and cognitive development in children
Payam Dadvand, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Mikel Esnaola, Joan Forns, Xavier Basagaña, Mar Alvarez-Pedrerol, Ioar Rivas, Mónica López-Vicente, Montserrat De Castro Pascual, Jason Su, Michael Jerrett, Xavier Querol, Jordi Sunyer
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2015, 112 (26) 7937-7942; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1503402112
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