Research progress on exposure and health effects of green space

Accumulating studies suggest that green space exposure is related to a variety of health benefits; however, limited studies have been conducted in China. We reviewed the methods of exposure assessment, study designs, and main findings of previous studies regarding to green space exposure and its acute and chronic health effects. In the aspect of exposure assessments, different types of indicators were employed in the epidemiological studies, such as land use types of green space, greenness index retrieved from satellite remote sensing data, and green space expsosure data extracted from the images of street view. Epidemiological studies of green space exposure have the following features: 1) The majority of the studies were conducted in developed countries rather than developing ones; 2) Green space exposure was suggested to have potential health effects in various stages of the life cycle from pregnancy, infancy, adolescence, adulthood to senior years; 3) Results were consistent that exposure to green space might improve birth weight and be protective against mortality, whereas failed to be consistent on other health outcomes; 4) The mechanisms of health benefits of green space were still unclear.