Daily active-mobility green space exposure and subjective health: An age-comparative perspective

Abstract

A growing body of research measures mobility-based green space exposure using GPS trajectories, yet many studies overlook travel modes, though active travel both increases physical activity and entails direct contact with surrounding greenery. While recent work has examined links between mobility-based green space exposure and momentary well-being, age differences in these daily associations remain underexplored. We examined the day-to-day associations between green space exposure and subjective health in 64 younger and 98 older adults (N = 162) residing in Switzerland, using a final analytic sample of 1106 person-days from a 15-day sampling period. We operationalized static neighborhood context using walking- and cycling-based accessibility from home locations. Using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), we assessed individuals’ static green space exposure (SGSE). Subsequently, we measured active-mobility green space exposure (AMGSE) using active-travel trajectories detected from GPS and accelerometer sensors. The results showed no association between individuals’ SGSE and average daily total volume AMGSE (TGSE). We further evaluated the associations between AMGSE metrics and daily subjective health using ordinal logistic regression models with mixed effects. The results revealed that between-person TGSE was positively associated with subjective health, whereas no significant associations were observed with other AMGSE metrics. Finally, we examined the associations between daily subjective health and TGSE with sociodemographic features as moderators. The results showed a stronger within-person association between TGSE and subjective health in younger adults, with no significant within-person interaction effects found for other sociodemographic covariates. This work provides a framework addressing AMGSE and its health correlates.