Urban environments and human health: current trends and future directions

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

Volumn 25, Issue , 2017, Pages 33-44

  Sarkar, Chinmoy ^a   Webster, Chris ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMPLEXITY; ENVIRONMENTAL RISK; FUTURE PROSPECT; INJURY; MORTALITY; NATURE-SOCIETY RELATIONS; PUBLIC HEALTH; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; URBAN ECOSYSTEM; URBANIZATION;

EID: 85021649665     PISSN: 18773435     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2017.06.001     Document Type: Review

References (174)

1. Steffen, W., Persson, Å., Deutsch, L., Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Richardson, K., Crumley, C., Crutzen, P., Folke, C., Gordon, L., The Anthropocene: from global change to planetary stewardship. Ambio 40 (2011), 739–761.
2. WHO, Health and Environment in Sustainable Development: Five Years After the Earth Summit. 1997, World Health Organization, Geneva.
3. ICSU, ISSC, Review of Targets for the Sustainable Development Goals: The Science Perspective. 2015, International Council for Science;.
4. Griggs, D., Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., Rockström, J., Öhman, M.C., Shyamsundar, P., Steffen, W., Glaser, G., Kanie, N., Noble, I., Policy: sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature 495 (2013), 305–307.
5. Sachs, J.D., From millennium development goals to sustainable development goals. The Lancet 379 (2012), 2206–2211.
6. Lozano, R., Naghavi, M., Foreman, K., Lim, S., Shibuya, K., Aboyans, V., Abraham, J., Adair, T., Aggarwal, R., Ahn, S.Y., Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet 380 (2013), 2095–2128.
7. Prüss-Üstün, A., Wolf, J., Corvalán, C., Bos, R., Neira, M., Preventing disease through healthy environments: a global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks. 2016, World Health Organization.
8. 8•• Rydin, Y., Bleahu, A., Davies, M., Dávila, J.D., Friel, S., De Grandis, G., Groce, N., Hallal, P.C., Hamilton, I., Howden-Chapman, P., Shaping cities for health: complexity and the planning of urban environments in the 21st century. Lancet 379 (2012), 2079–2108 This is the report of the Lancet Commission that met over the period November 2009–June 2011 to analyze the relationships between the physical fabric of towns and cities and health outcomes as well as to discuss the role that urban planning can play towards the creation of healthy cities. The report concluded that the identification and analysis of the contextual effects on health status and inequalities is complicated. A complex system approach is needed to delve deep into urban dynamics and the underlying multi-level social and environmental processes that constitute and shape a city and the health of its population.
9. ICSU, Report of the ICSU Planning Group on Health and Wellbeing in the Changing Urban Environment: a Systems Analysis Approach., 2012, International Council for Science.
10. Chokshi, D.A., Farley, T.A., The cost-effectiveness of environmental approaches to disease prevention. N Engl J Med 367 (2012), 295–297.
11. 11•• Sarkar, C., Webster, C., Gallacher, J., Healthy Cities: Public Health Through Urban Planning. 2014, Edward Elgar Publishing The book provides an evidence-based approach to investigating and designing for healthy cities. Chapter 2 traces the origins of public health and city planning and describes the evolving paradigms of epidemiology as definitions of health has changed in response to emerging social costs of urbanization and changing disease etiology. Drawing upon these concepts, Chapter 3 introduces the urban health niche model as a fundamental public health planning, while Chapter 4 provides a systematic review and meta-analyses of the epidemiologic, public health and health geography literature on built environment and health. Chapters 5–8 contain analysis towards empirical evidence-base.
12. Materia, E., Baglio, G., Health, science, and complexity. J Epidemiol Commun Health 59 (2005), 534–535.
13. Pearce, N., Merletti, F., Complexity, simplicity, and epidemiology. Int J Epidemiol 35 (2006), 515–519.
14. 14• Krieger, N., Epidemiology and the web of causation: has anyone seen the spider?. Soc Sci Med 39 (1994), 887–903 This is a seminal paper on eco-social epidemiological paradigm aiming to integrate the biologic and social factors of disease causation. Krieger visualizes the metaphor of web of causation with two ‘spiders’, a social and a biologic. The metaphor of eco-social epidemiology has been further refined as a self-replicating fractal object to reflect the interlinked and diverse patterns of susceptibility from the sub-cellular to the societal levels of organization. Such a conceptualization is a manifestation of the fact that health and disease self-evolve in space and time as a result of complex interactions between interlinked multiple and multi-level factors.
15. Susser, M., Susser, E., Choosing a future for epidemiology: II. From black box to Chinese boxes and eco-epidemiology. Am J Public Health 86 (1996), 674–677.
16. Krieger, N., Theories for social epidemiology in the 21st century: an ecosocial perspective. Int J Epidemiol 30 (2001), 668–677.
17. 17•• McMichael, A.J., Prisoners of the proximate: loosening the constraints on epidemiology in an age of change. Am J Epidemiol 149 (1999), 887–897 In this paper, the author provides a cognitively powerful and holistic model of contemporary epidemiology being constrained (imprisoned) by the cube with axes indicating our over-emphasis on proximate risk-factors, individual-level of analysis, the static/modular view of temporal (life-course level as opposed to more static cross sectional studies) variations in risks and with limited forecasting ability. He argues that modern epidemiology should follow an integrated approach wherein its range is broadened from proximate to distal factors, individual to population-level of analysis, modular to life course as well as being fully accustomed to forecasting future health risks from global environmental change.
18. 18•• Brownson, R.C., Haire-Joshu, D., Luke, D.A., Shaping the context of health: a review of environmental and policy approaches in the prevention of chronic diseases. Annu Rev Public Health 27 (2006), 341–370 The paper discusses the role of environmental and policy interventions towards reducing the burden of chronic diseases via their influence on three key lifestyle level factors, namely, tobacco use, physical activity and healthy eating. It provides an extensive review of seventeen major interventions. Tobacco-related interventions included clean indoor air, restricting youth access to tobacco, taxing and pricing, reducing cessation costs, advertising restrictions, product warning labels. Physical activity-related interventions included access to facilities, urban planning and policy, transport policy, school-based physical education, economic incentives and point of decision prompts, while interventions related to healthy eating included food and beverage availability in schools, access to healthy ready-to-eat foods, food pricing and incentives, nutrition labeling and information and media and marketing policy.
19. Auchincloss, A.H., Diez Roux, A.V., A new tool for epidemiology: the usefulness of dynamic-agent models in understanding place effects on health. Am J Epidemiol 168 (2008), 1–8.
20. Kuh, D., Ben-Shlomo, Y., A Life Course Approach to Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, vol 2, 2004, Oxford University Press.
21. Rose, G., Sick individuals and sick populations. Int J Epidemiol 14 (1985), 32–38.
22. Leaning, J., Guha-Sapir, D., Natural disasters, armed conflict, and public health. N Engl J Med 369 (2013), 1836–1842.
23. Watts, N., Adger, W.N., Agnolucci, P., Blackstock, J., Byass, P., Cai, W., Chaytor, S., Colbourn, T., Collins, M., Cooper, A., et al. Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health. The Lancet 386 (2015), 1861–1914.
24. Morens, D.M., Folkers, G.K., Fauci, A.S., The challenge of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Nature 430 (2004), 242–249.
25. Jones, K.E., Patel, N.G., Levy, M.A., Storeygard, A., Balk, D., Gittleman, J.L., Daszak, P., Global trends in emerging infectious diseases. Nature 451 (2008), 990–993.
26. Silbergeld, E.K., Graham, J., Price, L.B., Industrial food animal production, antimicrobial resistance, and human health. Annu Rev Public Health 29 (2008), 151–169.
27. Roca, I., Akova, M., Baquero, F., Carlet, J., Cavaleri, M., Coenen, S., Cohen, J., Findlay, D., Gyssens, I., Heure, O.E., et al. The global threat of antimicrobial resistance: science for intervention. New Microb New Infect 6 (2015), 22–29.
28. Kampa, M., Castanas, E., Human health effects of air pollution. Environ Pollution 151 (2008), 362–367.
29. 29• Kim, K.-H., Jahan, S.A., Kabir, E., A review on human health perspective of air pollution with respect to allergies and asthma. Environ Int 59 (2013), 41–52 The paper provides a multi-disciplinary review of the relationships between air pollution and incidences of asthma and allergies. The potential impacts of major pollutants have been categorized in to chemical pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds) and biophysical parameters (dust mites, pet allergens, and mold).
30. 2) and elemental carbon on mortality from all-causes, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease.
31. Pope, C.A. III, Burnett, R.T., Thun, M.J., Calle, E.E., Krewski, D., Ito, K., Thurston, G.D., Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. J Am Med Assoc 287 (2002), 1132–1141.
32. Vineis, P., Husgafvel-Pursiainen, K., Air pollution and cancer: biomarker studies in human populations. Carcinogenesis 26 (2005), 1846–1855.
33. Lim, Y.-H., Kim, H., Kim, J.H., Bae, S., Park, H.Y., Hong, Y.-C., Air pollution and symptoms of depression in elderly adults. Environ Health Perspect, 120, 2012, 1023.
34. Basner, M., Babisch, W., Davis, A., Brink, M., Clark, C., Janssen, S., Stansfeld, S., Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health. Lancet 383 (2014), 1325–1332.
35. Van Kempen, E., Babisch, W., The quantitative relationship between road traffic noise and hypertension: a meta-analysis. J Hypertension 30 (2012), 1075–1086.
36. 36• Schwarzenbach, R.P., Egli, T., Hofstetter, T.B., Von Gunten, U., Wehrli, B., Global water pollution and human health. Annual Rev Environ Resour 35 (2010), 109–136 The paper provides a review on the impacts of aquatic contaminants upon human health and discusses approaches to mitigate pollution of freshwater resources. Stress has been laid on the potential health impacts of chemical pollution, especially inorganic and organic micropollutants including toxic metals and metalloids as well as a large variety of synthetic organic chemicals. The paper also briefly discusses aspects of waterborne diseases and the urgent need for improved sanitation in developing countries. The review has been organized along the different temporal and spatial scales of global water pollution.
37. Järup, L., Hazards of heavy metal contamination. Br Med Bull 68 (2003), 167–182.
38. Naujokas, M.F., Anderson, B., Ahsan, H., Aposhian, H.V., Graziano, J.H., Thompson, C., Suk, W.A., The broad scope of health effects from chronic arsenic exposure: update on a worldwide public health problem. Environ Health Perspect (Online), 121, 2013, 295.
39. Ozsvath, D.L., Fluoride and environmental health: a review. Rev Environ Sci Bio/Technol 8 (2009), 59–79.
40. Porta, D., Milani, S., Lazzarino, A.I., Perucci, C.A., Forastiere, F., Systematic review of epidemiological studies on health effects associated with management of solid waste. Environ Health, 8, 2009, 1.
41. Elliott, P., Richardson, S., Abellan, J.J., Thomson, A., de Hoogh, C., Jarup, L., Briggs, D.J., Geographic density of landfill sites and risk of congenital anomalies in England. Occupational Environ Med 66 (2009), 81–89.
42. Lin, R.-T., Takahashi, K., Karjalainen, A., Hoshuyama, T., Wilson, D., Kameda, T., Chan, C.-C., Wen, C.-P., Furuya, S., Higashi, T., Ecological association between asbestos-related diseases and historical asbestos consumption: an international analysis. Lancet 369 (2007), 844–849.
43. Feychting, M., Ahlbom, A., Kheifets, L., EMF and health. Annual Rev Public Health 26 (2005), 165–189.
44. 44• Bartram, J., Cairncross, S., Hygiene, sanitation, and water: forgotten foundations of health. PLoS Med, 7, 2010, e1000367 The paper highlights the potential of three cost effective interventions to ameliorate deficient hygiene, sanitation and water supply in preventing 4.2% of all premature mortalities.
45. 45• Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., De Vries, S., Frumkin, H., Nature and health. Annual Rev Public Health 35 (2014), 207–228 The paper provides an extensive review of the relationship between nature and human health. The pathways via which nature influences health including the simultaneous impacts of air quality, physical activity, social contacts and stress reduction have been discussed. Methodological challenges and future research priorities have also been discussed.
46. Grahn, P., Stigsdotter, U.A., Landscape planning and stress. Urban Forestry Urban Greening 2 (2003), 1–18.
47. Hartig, T., Evans, G.W., Jamner, L.D., Davis, D.S., Gärling, T., Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. J Environ Psychol 23 (2003), 109–123.
48. White, M., Smith, A., Humphryes, K., Pahl, S., Snelling, D., Depledge, M., Blue space: the importance of water for preference, affect, and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes. J Environ Psychol 30 (2010), 482–493.
49. Völker, S., Kistemann, T., The impact of blue space on human health and well-being–Salutogenetic health effects of inland surface waters: a review. Int J Hygiene Environ Health 214 (2011), 449–460.
50. Gascon, M., Triguero-Mas, M., Martínez, D., Dadvand, P., Forns, J., Plasència, A., Nieuwenhuijsen, M.J., Mental health benefits of long-term exposure to residential green and blue spaces: a systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 12 (2015), 4354–4379.
51. Pereira, G., Foster, S., Martin, K., Christian, H., Boruff, B.J., Knuiman, M., Giles-Corti, B., The association between neighborhood greenness and cardiovascular disease: an observational study. BMC Public Health, 12, 2012, 466.
52. Pereira, G., Christian, H., Foster, S., Boruff, B.J., Bull, F., Knuiman, M., Giles-Corti, B., The association between neighborhood greenness and weight status: an observational study in Perth Western Australia. Environ Health, 12, 2013, 49.
53. Sarkar, C., Webster, C., Pryor, M., Tang, D., Melbourne, S., Zhang, X., Jianzheng, L., Exploring associations between urban green, street design and walking: results from the Greater London boroughs. Landsc Urban Plan 143 (2015), 112–125.
54. Wheeler, B.W., White, M., Stahl-Timmins, W., Depledge, M.H., Does living by the coast improve health and wellbeing?. Health Place 18 (2012), 1198–1201.
55. Zauderer, C., Ganzer, C.A., Seasonal affective disorder: an overview. Mental Health Practice 18 (2015), 21–24.
56. Ewing, R., Cervero, R., Travel and the built environment: a synthesis. Transportation Res Record J Transportation Res Board 1780 (2001), 87–114.
57. Lee, C., Moudon, A.V., The 3Ds + R: quantifying land use and urban form correlates of walking. Transportation Res D Transport Environ 11 (2006), 204–215.
58. 58• Giles-Corti, B., Vernez-Moudon, A., Reis, R., Turrell, G., Dannenberg, A.L., Badland, H., Foster, S., Lowe, M., Sallis, J.F., Stevenson, M., City planning and population health: a global challenge. Lancet 388 (2016), 2912–2924 The paper stresses on the role of urban and transport planning and design interventions at regional and local levels towards creation of healthy and sustainable cities via encouraging walking, cycling, public transport use, and reducing private motor vehicle use. Regional-level interventions discussed included destination accessibility and distribution of employment demand management, while local-level interventions included design, density, distance to public transport, diversity and desirability.
59. 59• Sallis, J.F., Floyd, M.F., Rodríguez, D.A., Saelens, B.E., Role of built environments in physical activity, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation 125 (2012), 729–737 The paper introduces a multi-level ecological model of physical activity that takes in to account institutional and community built environment settings and features, as well as policies that are relevant to each physical activity domain. It provides a nonsystematic review of the relationship between active recreation and built and recreational environments, obesity and recreational environments, and built environment, active transport and physical activity. The paper also discusses disparities in access to activity-supportive built environments as well as recommendations for environment and policy change aimed at reducing the burden of chronic diseases.
60. Haskell, W.L., Lee, I.-M., Pate, R.R., Powell, K.E., Blair, S.N., Franklin, B.A., Macera, C.A., Heath, G.W., Thompson, P.D., Bauman, A., Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Circulation, 116, 2007, 1081.
61. Saelens, B.E., Handy, S.L., Built environment correlates of walking: a review. Med Sci Sports Exer 40 (2008), S550–S566.
62. Brownson, R.C., Hoehner, C.M., Day, K., Forsyth, A., Sallis, J.F., Measuring the built environment for physical activity. State of the science. Am J Preventive Med, 36, 2009 S99-S123.e112.
63. Heath, G.W., Parra, D.C., Sarmiento, O.L., Andersen, L.B., Owen, N., Goenka, S., Montes, F., Brownson, R.C., Group LPASW., Evidence-based intervention in physical activity: lessons from around the world. Lancet 380 (2012), 272–281.
64. Papas, M.A., Alberg, A.J., Ewing, R., Helzlsouer, K.J., Gary, T.L., Klassen, A.C., The built environment and obesity. Epidemiol Rev 29 (2007), 129–143.
65. 65• Leal, C., Chaix, B., The influence of geographic life environments on cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review, a methodological assessment and a research agenda. Obesity Rev 12 (2011), 217–230 The paper reports a systematic review of the literature relating to the association between characteristics of geographic life environments and cardio-metabolic risks (such as obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemias and the metabolic syndrome) in industrialized countries. The study reported that neighbourhood environmental characteristics including low area socioeconomic position; low urbanization degree; low street intersection, service availability and residential density; high noise pollution; low accessibility to supermarkets and high density of convenience stores; and low social cohesion were consistently associated with either obesity or hypertension.
66. Evans, G.W., The built environment and mental health. J Urban Health 80 (2003), 536–555.
67. Rundle, A., Roux, A.V.D., Freeman, L.M., Miller, D., Neckerman, K.M., Weiss, C.C., The urban built environment and obesity in New York City: a multilevel analysis. Am J Health Promotion 21 (2007), 326–334.
68. Mobley, L.R., Root, E.D., Finkelstein, E.A., Khavjou, O., Farris, R.P., Will, J.C., Environment, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk in low-income women. Am J Preventive Med, 30, 2006 327-332.e321.
69. Gordon-Larsen, P., Nelson, M.C., Page, P., Popkin, B.M., Inequality in the built environment underlies key health disparities in physical activity and obesity. Pediatrics 117 (2006), 417–424.
70. Sarkar, C., Gallacher, J., Webster, C., Built environment configuration and change in body mass index: the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS). Health Place 19 (2013), 33–44.
71. Lovasi, G.S., Quinn, J.W., Neckerman, K.M., Perzanowski, M.S., Rundle, A., Children living in areas with more street trees have lower prevalence of asthma. J Epidemiol Commun Health 62 (2008), 647–649.
72. Lovasi, G.S., Jacobson, J.S., Quinn, J.W., Neckerman, K.M., Ashby-Thompson, M.N., Rundle, A., Is the environment near home and school associated with physical activity and adiposity of urban preschool children?. J Urban Health 88 (2011), 1143–1157.
73. Takano, T., Nakamura, K., Watanabe, M., Urban residential environments and senior citizens’ longevity in megacity areas: the importance of walkable green spaces. J Epidemiol Commun Health 56 (2002), 913–918.
74. Lee, A.C., Maheswaran, R., The health benefits of urban green spaces: a review of the evidence. J Public Health 33 (2011), 212–222.
75. Kaczynski, A.T., Besenyi, G.M., Stanis, S.A.W., Koohsari, M.J., Oestman, K.B., Bergstrom, R., Potwarka, L.R., Reis, R.S., Are park proximity and park features related to park use and park-based physical activity among adults? Variations by multiple socio-demographic characteristics. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Activity, 11, 2014, 1.
76. Halonen, J.I., Stenholm, S., Kivimäki, M., Pentti, J., Subramanian, S., Kawachi, I., Vahtera, J., Is change in availability of sports facilities associated with change in physical activity? A prospective cohort study. Preventive Med 73 (2015), 10–14.
77. Ewing, R., Schmid, T., Killingsworth, R., Zlot, A., Raudenbush, S., Relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity, and morbidity. Am J Health Promotion 18 (2003), 47–57.
78. Frank, L.D., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.L., Chapman, J.E., Saelens, B.E., Bachman, W., Many pathways from land use to health: associations between neighborhood walkability and active transportation, body mass index, and air quality. J Am Plan Assoc 72 (2006), 75–87.
79. Zimring, C., Joseph, A., Nicoll, G.L., Tsepas, S., Influences of building design and site design on physical activity: research and intervention opportunities. Am J Preventive Med 28 (2005), 186–193.
80. Lu, Y., Sarkar, C., Ye, Y., Xiao, Y., Using the Online Walking Journal to explore the relationship between campus environment and walking behaviour. J Transport Health, 2016 http://doi.org.eproxy2.lib.hku.hk/10.1016/j.jth.2016.12.006.
81. Leyden, K.M., Social capital and the built environment: the importance of walkable neighborhoods. Am J Public Health 93 (2003), 1546–1551.
82. Lund, H., Pedestrian environments and sense of community. J Plan Educ Res 21 (2002), 301–312.
83. Cohen, D.A., Inagami, S., Finch, B., The built environment and collective efficacy. Health Place 14 (2008), 198–208.
84. Kweon, B.-S., Sullivan, W.C., Wiley, A.R., Green common spaces and the social integration of inner-city older adults. Environ Behav 30 (1998), 832–858.
85. Sullivan, W.C., Kuo, F.E., Depooter, S.F., The fruit of urban nature vital neighborhood spaces. Environ Behav 36 (2004), 678–700.
86. Kawachi, I., Berkman, L., Social cohesion, social capital, and health. Kawachi, I., Berkman, L., (eds.) Social Epidemiology, 2000, Oxford University Press;, 174–190.
87. Kim, D., Subramanian, S., Gortmaker, S.L., Kawachi, I., US state-and county-level social capital in relation to obesity and physical inactivity: a multilevel, multivariable analysis. Soc Sci Med 63 (2006), 1045–1059.
88. Cohen, D.A., Finch, B.K., Bower, A., Sastry, N., Collective efficacy and obesity: the potential influence of social factors on health. Soc Sci Med 62 (2006), 769–778.
89. Almedom, A.M., Social capital and mental health: an interdisciplinary review of primary evidence. Soc Sci Med 61 (2005), 943–964.
90. Vlahov, D., Freudenberg, N., Proietti, F., Ompad, D., Quinn, A., Nandi, V., Galea, S., Urban as a determinant of health. J Urban Health 84 (2007), 16–26.
91. Frumkin, H., Frank, L., Jackson, R.J., Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities. 2004, Island Press.
92. Dye, C., Health and urban living. Science 319 (2008), 766–769.
93. Sclar, E.D., Garau, P., Carolini, G., The 21st century health challenge of slums and cities. Lancet, 365, 2005, 901.
94. Badland, H., Foster, S., Bentley, R., Higgs, C., Roberts, R., Pettit, C., Giles-Corti, B., Examining associations between area-level spatial measures of housing with selected health and wellbeing behaviours and outcomes in an urban context. Health Place 43 (2017), 17–24.
95. Mueller, N., Rojas-Rueda, D., Basagaña, X., Cirach, M., Cole-Hunter, T., Dadvand, P., Donaire-Gonzalez, D., Foraster, M., Gascon, M., Martinez, D., Urban and transport planning related exposures and mortality: a health impact assessment for cities. Environ Health Perspect 125 (2017), 89–96.
96. Lelieveld, J., Evans, J., Fnais, M., Giannadaki, D., Pozzer, A., The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale. Nature 525 (2015), 367–371.
97. Zhang, K., Batterman, S., Air pollution and health risks due to vehicle traffic. Sci Total Environ 450 (2013), 307–316.
98. Knittel, C.R., Miller, D.L., Sanders, N.J., Caution, drivers! Children present: traffic, pollution, and infant health. Rev Econ Stat 98 (2016), 350–366.
99. Jerrett, M., McConnell, R., Wolch, J., Chang, R., Lam, C., Dunton, G., Gilliland, F., Lurmann, F., Islam, T., Berhane, K., Traffic-related air pollution and obesity formation in children: a longitudinal, multilevel analysis. Environ Health, 13, 2014, 49.
100. Harris, M.H., Gold, D.R., Rifas-Shiman, S.L., Melly, S.J., Zanobetti, A., Coull, B.A., Schwartz, J.D., Gryparis, A., Kloog, I., Koutrakis, P., Prenatal and childhood traffic-related pollution exposure and childhood cognition in the project viva cohort (Massachusetts, USA). Environ Health Perspect, 123, 2015, 1072.
101. Gundersen, H., Magerøy, N., Moen, B.E., Bråtveit, M., Traffic density in area of residence is associated with health-related quality of life in women, the community-based Hordaland Health Study. Arch Environ Occupat Health 68 (2013), 153–160.
102. Bayer-Oglesby, L., Schindler, C., Hazenkamp-von Arx, M.E., Braun-Fahrländer, C., Keidel, D., Rapp, R., Künzli, N., Braendli, O., Burdet, L., Liu, L.S., Living near main streets and respiratory symptoms in adults the swiss cohort study on air pollution and lung diseases in adults. Am J Epidemiol 164 (2006), 1190–1198.
103. Babisch, W., Wolf, K., Petz, M., Heinrich, J., Cyrys, J., Peters, A., Associations between traffic noise, particulate air pollution, hypertension, and isolated systolic hypertension in adults: the KORA study. Environ Health Perspect (Online), 122, 2014, 492.
104. Monrad, M., Sajadieh, A., Christensen, J.S., Ketzel, M., Raaschou-Nielsen, O., Tjønneland, A., Overvad, K., Loft, S., Sørensen, M., Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and risk of incident atrial fibrillation: a cohort study. Environ Health Perspect, 125, 2017, 422.
105. White, M., Food access and obesity. Obesity Rev 8 (2007), 99–107.
106. Cobb, L.K., Appel, L.J., Franco, M., Jones-Smith, J.C., Nur, A., Anderson, C.A., The relationship of the local food environment with obesity: a systematic review of methods, study quality, and results. Obesity 23 (2015), 1331–1344.
107. Campbell, C.A., Hahn, R.A., Elder, R., Brewer, R., Chattopadhyay, S., Fielding, J., Naimi, T.S., Toomey, T., Lawrence, B., Middleton, J.C., The effectiveness of limiting alcohol outlet density as a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms. Am J Prev Med 37 (2009), 556–569.
108. Popova, S., Giesbrecht, N., Bekmuradov, D., Patra, J., Hours and days of sale and density of alcohol outlets: impacts on alcohol consumption and damage: a systematic review. Alcohol Alcoholism 44 (2009), 500–516.
109. Dumbaugh, E., Rae, R., Safe urban form: revisiting the relationship between community design and traffic safety. J Am Plan Assoc 75 (2009), 309–329.
110. Ewing, R., Dumbaugh, E., The built environment and traffic safety a review of empirical evidence. J Plan Literature 23 (2009), 347–367.
111. Halpern, D., Mental Health and the Built Environment: More Than Bricks and Mortars?. 1995, Taylor & Francis.
112. Cohen, D.A., Mason, C., Bedimo, A., Scribner, R., Basolo, V., Farley, T.A., Neighborhood physical conditions and health. Am J Public Health 93 (2003), 467–471.
113. Galea, S., Ahern, J., Rudenstine, S., Wallace, Z., Vlahov, D., Urban built environment and depression: a multilevel analysis. J Epidemiol Commun Health 59 (2005), 822–827.
114. Araya, R., Montgomery, A., Rojas, G., Fritsch, R., Solis, J., Signorelli, A., Lewis, G., Common mental disorders and the built environment in Santiago, Chile. Br J Psychiatry 190 (2007), 394–401.
115. Tan, J., Zheng, Y., Tang, X., Guo, C., Li, L., Song, G., Zhen, X., Yuan, D., Kalkstein, A.J., Li, F., The urban heat island and its impact on heat waves and human health in Shanghai. Int J Biometeorol 54 (2010), 75–84.
116. Moonen, P., Defraeye, T., Dorer, V., Blocken, B., Carmeliet, J., Urban physics: effect of the micro-climate on comfort, health and energy demand. Front Architectural Res 1 (2012), 197–228.
117. Kovats, R.S., Hajat, S., Heat stress and public health: a critical review. Annual Rev Public Health 29 (2008), 41–55.
118. Goggins, W.B., Chan, E.Y., Ng, E., Ren, C., Chen, L., Effect modification of the association between short-term meteorological factors and mortality by urban heat islands in Hong Kong. PLoS One, 7, 2012, e38551.
119. Corburn, J., Cities, climate change and urban heat island mitigation: localising global environmental science. Urban Studies 46 (2009), 413–427.
120. Paravantis, J., Santamouris, M., Cartalis, C., Efthymiou, C., Kontoulis, N., Mortality associated with high ambient temperatures, heatwaves, and the urban heat island in Athens, Greece. Sustainability, 9, 2017, 606.
121. McCarthy, M.P., Best, M.J., Betts, R.A., Climate change in cities due to global warming and urban effects. Geophys Res Lett, 2010, 37.
122. Cummins, S., Curtis, S., Diez-Roux, A.V., Macintyre, S., Understanding and representing ‘place’ in health research: a relational approach. Soc Sci Med 65 (2007), 1825–1838.
123. Bernard, P., Charafeddine, R., Frohlich, K.L., Daniel, M., Kestens, Y., Potvin, L., Health inequalities and place: a theoretical conception of neighbourhood. Soc Sci Med 65 (2007), 1839–1852.
124. Lovasi, G.S., Hutson, M.A., Guerra, M., Neckerman, K.M., Built environments and obesity in disadvantaged populations. Epidemiol Rev, 2009, 10.1093/epirev/mxp005 mxp005.
125. Macintyre, S., Deprivation amplification revisited; or, is it always true that poorer places have poorer access to resources for healthy diets and physical activity?. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Activity, 4, 2007, 1.
126. Lawlor, D.A., Davey Smith, G., Patel, R., Ebrahim, S., Life-course socioeconomic position, area deprivation, and coronary heart disease: findings from the British Women's Heart and Health Study. Am J Public Health 95 (2005), 91–97.
127. Mitchell, R., Popham, F., Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. Lancet 372 (2008), 1655–1660.
128. Kawachi, I., Subramanian, S., Almeida-Filho, N., A glossary for health inequalities. J Epidemiol Commun Health 56 (2002), 647–652.
129. Coburn, D., Beyond the income inequality hypothesis: class, neo-liberalism, and health inequalities. Soc Sci Med 58 (2004), 41–56.
130. Lorenc, T., Clayton, S., Neary, D., Whitehead, M., Petticrew, M., Thomson, H., Cummins, S., Sowden, A., Renton, A., Crime, fear of crime, environment, and mental health and wellbeing: mapping review of theories and causal pathways. Health Place 18 (2012), 757–765.
131. Soltero, E.G., Hernandez, D.C., O'Connor, D.P., Lee, R.E., Does social support mediate the relationship among neighborhood disadvantage, incivilities, crime and physical activity?. Prev Med 72 (2015), 44–49.
132. Theorell, T., Jood, K., Järvholm, L.S., Vingård, E., Perk, J., Östergren, P.O., Hall, C., A systematic review of studies in the contributions of the work environment to ischaemic heart disease development. Eur J Public Health, 2016, ckw025.
133. Stansfeld, S., Candy, B., Psychosocial work environment and mental health — a meta-analytic review. Scand J Work Environ Health, 2006, 443–462.
134. Barrett, A.E., Turner, R.J., Family structure and mental health: the mediating effects of socioeconomic status, family process, and social stress. J Health Soc Behav 46 (2005), 156–169.
135. Rothon, C., Goodwin, L., Stansfeld, S., Family social support, community “social capital” and adolescents’ mental health and educational outcomes: a longitudinal study in England. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiol 47 (2012), 697–709.
136. Lax, S., Smith, D.P., Hampton-Marcell, J., Owens, S.M., Handley, K.M., Scott, N.M., Gibbons, S.M., Larsen, P., Shogan, B.D., Weiss, S., Longitudinal analysis of microbial interaction between humans and the indoor environment. Science 345 (2014), 1048–1052.
137. Kettleson, E.M., Adhikari, A., Vesper, S., Coombs, K., Indugula, R., Reponen, T., Key determinants of the fungal and bacterial microbiomes in homes. Environ Res 138 (2015), 130–135.
138. 138• Howden-Chapman, P., Housing standards: a glossary of housing and health. J Epidemiol Commun Health 58 (2004), 162–168 The paper provides an overview of the evidence relating to housing and health. The impact of housing-level factors on health have been classified as indoor environment, lead poisoning, damp and mould, cold and seasonal differences, household crowding, noise pollution, multiple housing deprivation, housing tenureship and social housing, and housing-related injuries. The impacts of housing-level interventions on health has also been discussed. The authors also summarize the role of housing as a psychosocial space with focus on impacts on mental health, housing neighbourhoods and the relationship between housing and neighbourhood attachment.
139. Zhang, J.J., Smith, K.R., Indoor air pollution: a global health concern. Br Med Bull 68 (2003), 209–225.
140. Dales, R., Liu, L., Wheeler, A.J., Gilbert, N.L., Quality of indoor residential air and health. Can Med Assoc J 179 (2008), 147–152.
141. Fullerton, D.G., Bruce, N., Gordon, S.B., Indoor air pollution from biomass fuel smoke is a major health concern in the developing world. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hygiene 102 (2008), 843–851.
142. U.S. Department of Health, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General., 2006, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
143. Darby, S., Hill, D., Auvinen, A., Barros-Dios, J., Baysson, H., Bochicchio, F., Deo, H., Falk, R., Forastiere, F., Hakama, M., Radon in homes and risk of lung cancer: collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 European case–control studies. Br Med J, 330, 2005, 223.
144. US Department of Health and Human Services, In The health consequences of smoking — 50 years of progress: a report of the Surgeon General, vol 17, 2014, US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
145. Rehm, J., Mathers, C., Popova, S., Thavorncharoensap, M., Teerawattananon, Y., Patra, J., Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders. Lancet 373 (2009), 2223–2233.
146. Volkow, N.D., Li, T.-K., Drug addiction: the neurobiology of behaviour gone awry. Nat Rev Neurosci 5 (2004), 963–970.
147. Banks, S., Dinges, D.F., Behavioral and physiological consequences of sleep restriction. J Clin Sleep Med 3 (2007), 519–528.
148. WHO, Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases: Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation., 2003, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization.
149. Guarner, F., Malagelada, J.-R., Gut flora in health and disease. Lancet 361 (2003), 512–519.
150. Ubeda, C., Pamer, E.G., Antibiotics, microbiota, and immune defense. Trends Immunol 33 (2012), 459–466.
151. Woo, J., Tang, N., Suen, E., Leung, J., Wong, M., Green space, psychological restoration, and telomere length. Lancet 373 (2009), 299–300.
152. Ward Thompson, C., Roe, J., Aspinall, P., Mitchell, R., Clow, A., Miller, D., More green space is linked to less stress in deprived communities: evidence from salivary cortisol patterns. Landsc Urban Plan 105 (2012), 221–229.
153. Park, M., Verhoeven, J.E., Cuijpers, P., Reynolds, C.F. III, Penninx, B.W., Where you live may make you old: the association between perceived poor neighborhood quality and leukocyte telomere length. PLoS One, 10, 2015, e0128460.
154. Hunter, D.J., Gene–environment interactions in human diseases. Nat Rev Genetics 6 (2005), 287–298.
155. Liu, L., Li, Y., Tollefsbol, T.O., Gene–environment interactions and epigenetic basis of human diseases. Curr Issues Mol Biol, 10, 2008, 25.
156. Galea, S., Riddle, M., Kaplan, G.A., Causal thinking and complex system approaches in epidemiology. Int J Epidemiol 39 (2010), 97–106.
157. Galea, S., Hall, C., Kaplan, G.A., Social epidemiology and complex system dynamic modelling as applied to health behaviour and drug use research. Int J Drug Policy 20 (2009), 209–216.
158. Glouberman, S., Gemar, M., Campsie, P., Miller, G., Armstrong, J., Newman, C., Siotis, A., Groff, P., A framework for improving health in cities: a discussion paper. J Urban Health 83 (2006), 325–338.
159. Manolio, T.A., Weis, B.K., Cowie, C.C., Hoover, R.N., Hudson, K., Kramer, B.S., Berg, C., Collins, R., Ewart, W., Gaziano, J.M., New models for large prospective studies: is there a better way?. Am J Epidemiol 175 (2012), 859–866.
160. 160•• Sarkar, C., Webster, C., Healthy cities of tomorrow: the case for large scale built environment–health studies. J Urban Health 94 (2016), 4–11 The paper discusses methodological challenges inherent in the current breed of built environment–health studies and highlights opportunities and challenges accompanying the recent advances in state-of-the-art big data spatial modelling, data linkage, anonymization, and large scale prospective cohorts. The importance of large scale prospective built environment–health studies enabled through multidisciplinary global collaborations in providing robust evidence (thus far non-existing) for preventive environmental interventions in the form of health-specific planning and design of neighbourhoods and cities as well as create decision supports systems for facilitating healthy cities has been stressed.
161. 161•• Sarkar, C., Webster, C., Gallacher, J., UK Biobank Urban Morphometric Platform (UKBUMP) — a nationwide resource for evidence-based healthy city planning and public health interventions. Annals GIS 21 (2015), 135–148 The paper discusses methodological challenges in the current built environment–health studies and describes the UK Biobank Urban Morphometrics Platform, the nation-wide platform that can be accessed by urban planning and public health research communities for evidence-informed environmental and health interventions. The UKBUMP is largest ever built environment–health database developed thus far high resolution spatial database of health-influencing urban morphological metrics (morphometrics), being developed for half-a-million British participants of the UK Biobank Prospective study spatially distributed across 22 UK cities.
162. Allen, N., Sudlow, C., Downey, P., Peakman, T., Danesh, J., Elliott, P., Gallacher, J., Green, J., Matthews, P., Pell, J., UK Biobank: current status and what it means for epidemiology. Health Policy Technol 1 (2012), 123–126.
163. EU, Together for Health: A Strategic Approach for the EU 2008–2013 (White Paper). 2007, European Commission.
164. 164•• Stevenson, M., Thompson, J., de Sá, T.H., Ewing, R., Mohan, D., McClure, R., Roberts, I., Tiwari, G., Giles-Corti, B., Sun, X., Land use, transport, and population health: estimating the health benefits of compact cities. Lancet 388 (2016), 2925–2935 The paper employs health impact assessment framework to estimate parameters of compact city and its effects on population health in six cities of Melbourne, Boston, Sao Paulo, London, Copenhagen and Delhi. Modelled land use and design interventions in the form of increments in density and diversity and proximity to public transport resulted in health gains across all cities (including reductions in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and gains in disability-adjusted life years per 100 000 population). The findings point to the health benefits of compact city model through integrated land use and transport planning.
165. Sallis, J.F., Bull, F., Burdett, R., Frank, L.D., Griffiths, P., Giles-Corti, B., Stevenson, M., Use of science to guide city planning policy and practice: how to achieve healthy and sustainable future cities. Lancet 388 (2016), 2936–2947.
166. Mytton, O.T., Clarke, D., Rayner, M., Taxing unhealthy food and drinks to improve health. BMJ, 344, 2012, e2931.
167. Craig, P., Cooper, C., Gunnell, D., Haw, S., Lawson, K., Macintyre, S., Ogilvie, D., Petticrew, M., Reeves, B., Sutton, M., Using natural experiments to evaluate population health interventions: new Medical Research Council guidance. J Epidemiol Commun Health, 2012 jech-2011-200375.
168. McCormack, G.R., Shiell, A., In search of causality: a systematic review of the relationship between the built environment and physical activity among adults. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Activity, 8, 2011, 1.
169. Prince, M., Wimo, A., Guerchet, M., Ali, G., Wu, Y., Prina, M., International, AsD., World Alzheimer Report 2015. The Global Impact of Dementia: An Analysis of Prevalence, Incidence, Cost and Trends., 2015, Alzheimer's Disease International.
170. Laxminarayan, R., Duse, A., Wattal, C., Zaidi, A.K., Wertheim, H.F., Sumpradit, N., Vlieghe, E., Hara, G.L., Gould, I.M., Goossens, H., Antibiotic resistance — the need for global solutions. Lancet Infect Dis 13 (2013), 1057–1098.
171. Somerset, F.F., The health implications of fracking: article in the Lancet. Lancet 383 (2014), 757–758.
172. 172•• Sarkar, C., Residential greenness and adiposity: Findings from the UK Biobank. Environ Int 106 (2017), 1–10 This paper reports a UK-wide large scale study of the links between markers of adiposity and exposure to greenness measured at individual level for N = 333,183 participants of UK Biobank. The study extensively adjusts for activity-promoting built environment and covariates and reports significant effect modification in the associations by gender, age, urbanicity and SES.
173. McMichael, C., Barnett, J., McMichael, A.J., An III wind? Climate change, migration, and health. Environ Health Perspect, 120, 2012, 646.
174. 174• Dora, C., Haines, A., Balbus, J., Fletcher, E., Adair-Rohani, H., Alabaster, G., Hossain, R., de Onis, M., Branca, F., Neira, M., Indicators linking health and sustainability in the post-2015 development agenda. Lancet 385 (2015), 380–391 The paper highlights the urgent necessity to study health as an outcome of sustainable development and to the development of measurable indicators that show both changes in exposure to health-related risks and progress towards environmental sustainability. The study describes methodologies for the selection of health-related indicators to measure progress of post-2015 development goals in non-health sectors. The proposed indicators reported that the ancillary benefits to health and health equity (co-benefits) of sustainable development policies, particularly those to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to environmental change.