STUDY FINDS
Americans have been leaving big cities in droves in recent years, and now a new study is giving older adults another reason to move. Scientists from Washington State University have found that even small, seemingly insignificant, differences in the availability of green and blue spaces across urban areas may contribute to improved mental and physical health. In other words, the more nature near your home, the better you’ll likely feel.
Study authors found that just 10 percent more forest space in a person’s residential ZIP code contributes to a reduction in serious psychological distress, which refers to mental health problems that require treatment and may interfere with one’s social life, work, or school. Meanwhile, another 10 percent increase in green space, tree cover, water, or nature trails also appeared to lower the odds that older individuals reported their general health as either poor or fair.
“Our findings suggest that loss of our urban green and blue spaces due to rapid urbanization may not just have an environmental impact but could have a public health impact as well,” says first study author Adithya Vegaraju, a medical student in the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, in a university release.
These findings are based on health survey data collected from over 42,000 people 65 and older who lived in urban regions of Washington state between 2011 and 2019. During the analysis, researchers compared each person’s general and mental health to various measures that reveal their access to green and blue spaces within their residential ZIP codes. While close to two percent of the participants displayed signs of serious psychological distress, 19 percent reported dealing with fair or poor general health.
