How urban park exposure shapes dyslipidemia risk: Evidence from mobility data in Seoul, South Korea

As dyslipidemia becomes increasingly prevalent worldwide, there has been growing interest in its association with urban green space, which is known to benefit physical health. However, most of these studies have relied on physical indicators of greenness, which may not accurately reflect actual exposure to green spaces. This study investigates the association between urban park use and dyslipidemia by leveraging cell phone-based mobility data to quantify actual park visits. Taking advantage of the unique mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, we explore how the health benefits of park use might manifest under constrained conditions. Panel logit models estimated using generalized estimating equations (GEE) were applied to 311,995 blood lipid health checkup records from Seoul residents collected between 2017 and 2022. Our analysis reveals that the risk of lipid metabolism disorders, specifically hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) and hypoalphalipoproteinemia (Hypo-HDL), was significantly reduced with higher park usage. Notably, during periods of restricted mobility, higher park usage was significantly associated with lower risks of hypercholesterolemia (HTC) and hyperbetalipoproteinemia (Hyper-LDL). These findings highlight the potential role of green space use in reducing dyslipidemia risk. Our results also underscore the importance of neighborhood-scale green spaces in public health resilience and can inform future urban planning strategies for managing health risks.