A negative association between prevalence of diabetes and urban residential area greenness detected in nationwide assessment of urban Bangladesh

Residential area greenness may influence diabetes, but limited studies have explored this relationship in developing countries. This study assessed the association between residential area greenness and diabetes among urban adults in Bangladesh. The mediation effect of the body mass index (BMI) was also assessed. A total of 2367 adults aged ≥ 35 years were extracted from a nationally representative survey. Diabetes was characterised as fasting plasma glucose level be ≥ 7.0 mmol/L or taking prescribed medications to reduce blood sugar level. Residential area greenness was estimated by enhanced vegetation index. Binary logistic regression models were employed to estimate the association between residential area greenness and diabetes adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Mediation analysis was performed to assess whether BMI mediated the association between greenness and diabetes. Greater area greenness was associated with lower odds of diabetes (adjusted odds ratio 0.805, 95% confidence interval 0.693–0.935, p = 0.0052). BMI significantly mediated 36.4% of the estimated association between greenness and diabetes. Presence of areas of greenness adjacent to living area tends to be associated with lower diabetes prevalence. Findings emphasised the importance of preserving the local environment to tackle the growing diabetes prevalence in Bangladesh.