The financial and health burdens of stress associated with increased urbanization have led to a demand for mental health enhancement strategies. While some extant literature details mental health benefits of community gardening, a coherent narrative on the construct of resilience and its relationship with the mental health benefits of community gardening is lacking. The present study examined the relationship between community gardening and a number of mental health benefits, in the forms of subjective well-being, stress, resilience potentials, and resilience factors (self-esteem, optimism, and openness). A total of 111 residents in Singapore completed a survey. Results from Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and Pearson’s correlation analyses show that, after controlling for age and levels of connection to nature, community gardeners reported significantly higher levels of subjective well-being than individual/home gardeners and non-gardeners, indicating that engagement in community gardening may be superior to individual/home gardening or non-gardening outdoor activities. Community gardeners reported higher levels of resilience and optimism than the non-gardening control group. These novel results indicate some potential for mental health benefits in urban environments, specifically in terms of subjective well-being and resilience. These findings have implications for future research in clinical psychology, mental health promotion, and policy.

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Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are considered to be a novel marker of cerebral small vessel disease. However, the link with cognitive impairment remains unclear. We investigated whether CMBs-independent of other traditional markers of cerebral small vessel disease-are related to cognition. Chinese subjects from the population-based Singapore Chinese Eye Study, who failed an initial cognitive screening and were recruited into the ongoing Epidemiology of Dementia in Singapore Study, underwent neuropsychological testing and 3 T brain magnetic resonance imaging. The presence and number of CMBs were graded using Brain Observer Microbleed Scale on susceptibility-weighted images. Other magnetic resonance imaging lesions that were graded included presence of lacunes, white matter lesion, and total brain volumes. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered and cognitive function was summarized as composite and domain-specific Z-scores. Among 282 subjects, 91 had any CMBs (32.3%), of whom 36 (12.8%) had multiple CMBs. CMBs were-independent of cardiovascular risk factors and other markers of cerebral small vessel disease-significantly associated with poorer cognitive function as reflected by composite Z-score (mean difference per CMB increase: -0.06; 95% confidence interval: -0.11, -0.01] and with domain-specific Z-scores including executive function, attention, and visuoconstruction. Among Chinese subjects CMBs were, independent of other concomitant markers of cerebral small vessel disease, associated with poorer cognitive function.