WEDNESDAY, Jan. 28, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Specific types of greenspace may be protective or harmful for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study published in the February issue of Environmental Epidemiology.
Peter James, Sc.D., from the University of California Davis School of Medicine, and colleagues estimated the percentage of streetscapes composed of visible trees, grass, and other green (plants/flowers/fields) from 350 million street-view images using deep learning models to examine their association with incident CVD among 88,788 Nurses' Health Study participants. Associations were estimated from 2000 to 2018, assessed through self-report, medical record review, or death certificates.
The researchers found that higher percentages of visible trees were associated with lower CVD incidence in adjusted models (hazard ratio, 0.96 per interquartile range), while higher percentages of visible grass and other green space types were associated with a higher incidence of CVD (hazard ratios, 1.06 and 1.03, respectively). No evidence of effect modification was seen by population density, Census region, air pollution, satellite-based vegetation, or neighborhood socioeconomic status. The findings were robust to adjustment for other spatial and behavioral factors, and after adjustment for traditional satellite-based vegetation indices, they persisted.
"Our findings suggest public health interventions should prioritize the preservation and planting of tree canopies in neighborhoods," James said in a statement.