# Neighborhood Greenness and Cardiometabolic Health among Hispanics in the HCHS/SOL Study

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $797,565

## Abstract

Neighborhood Greenness & Cardiometabolic Health among Hispanics in the HCHS/SOL Study
ABSTRACT
Project Summary:
Hispanics/Latinos, the largest U.S. minority group, are at relatively high risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Neighborhood greenness (vegetative presence) is a novel and understudied protective factor for MetS that has
not yet been systematically studied across Hispanic heritage groups. The NHLBI-funded Hispanic Community
Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) is an epidemiologic study with an emphasis on cardiovascular
disease and related risk factors such as MetS, diabetes and hypertension. Building on the HCHS/SOL study,
the proposed study will be the first to investigate prospectively and longitudinally, the impact of neighborhood
cumulative greenness exposure on MetS indicators within and across Hispanic subgroups. It will do so using
the full sample of ~8,000 participants for the Miami and San Diego HCHS/SOL sites, which are two U.S. areas
with significant Hispanic/Latino populations. Because both communities are undergoing significant greening
interventions, the proposed study will investigate the impact of the natural experiment in greening on MetS in
both cities. This proposal will obtain residential location from Visit 1 (2008-2011), Visit 2 (~6 years later), and
intervening annual follow-ups to calculate from high resolution satellite imagery cumulative greenness
exposure for each participant, and determine its relationship to central adiposity (waist circumference) and 4
other MetS indicators (i.e., blood pressure, triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, fasting glucose). Cumulative
exposure to neighborhood greenness will be assessed, reflecting moves and changes in environments. Multi-
group analyses will examine differences in the relationship of cumulative greenness to MetS indicators, by sex,
by site and by the three larger Hispanic subgroups. Hypothesized biological pathways will be examined:
specifically, greenness’ relationship to changes in waist circumference, which may in turn impact the other 4
MetS indicators through each of: (a) insulin resistance, measured by HOMA-IR, and (b) inflammation,
measured by C-Reactive Protein, respectively. Hypothesized moderators (e.g., sex; neighborhood walkability)
of greenness to MetS indicators will be examined. Planned post-hoc analyses will examine changes in
greenness (e.g., tree-planting) in relation to risk for MetS, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, and
possible roles of physical activity and social support (available for a subset of SOL participants) as pathways in
the relationship of greenness to biomarkers (insulin resistance, inflammation). HCHS/SOL recently completed
Visit 2, making this proposal timely. PIs at the two participating HCHS/SOL Study sites and Coordinating
Center will be integral to the conduct of the proposed study. Several factors increase the efficient and cost-
effective accomplishment of study aims: effective recruitment/retention strategie...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9973698
- **Project number:** 1R01HL148880-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Scott Charles Brown
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $797,565
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9973698

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9973698, Neighborhood Greenness and Cardiometabolic Health among Hispanics in the HCHS/SOL Study (1R01HL148880-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9973698. Licensed CC0.

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