Greenness Surrounding Schools and Visual Impairment in Chinese Children and Adolescents
Bo‐Yi Yang, Shanshan Li, Zhiyong Zou, Iana Markevych, Joachim Heinrich, Michael S. Bloom, Yana Luo, Wenzhong Huang, Xiang Xiao, Zhao‐Huan Gui, Wen-Wen Bao, Jing Jin, Jun Ma, Yinghua Ma, Yajun Chen, Guang‐Hui Dong
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence concerning the effects of greenness on childhood visual impairment is scarce. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess whether greenness surrounding schools was associated with visual impairment prevalence and visual acuity levels in Chinese schoolchildren and whether the associations might be explained by reduced air pollution. METHODS: ) at each school were assessed using machine learning methods. We used generalized linear mixed models to estimate the associations between greenness and prevalent visual impairment and visual acuity levels and used mediation analyses to explore the potential mediating role of air pollution. RESULTS: , and our estimates were generally robust in several sensitivity analyses. DISCUSSION: in vegetated areas. Further longitudinal studies with more precise greenness assessment are warranted to confirm these findings. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8429.