Multiple pathways link urban green- and bluespace to mental health in young adults

Dzhambov, Angel M.; Markevych, Iana; Hartig, Terry; Tilov, Boris; Arabadzhiev, Zlatoslav; Stoyanov, Drozdstoy; Gatseva, P.; Dimitrova, Donka D.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.004

Cited by 190 publications

(145 citation statements)

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“…NDVI was derived from six Sentinel 2 MultiSpectral Instrument (37) satellite images with a resolution of 10 by 10 m, obtained on 16 and 18 October 2017. In line with previous studies that analysed the effects of green space and blue space separately (17,23), we removed all water pixels from the satellite images with OpenStreetMap (OSM, OpenStreetMap Community, Cambridge, UK) water layer before determining NDVI. Mean NDVI values were extracted in circular buffers (or zones) within 100, 300, and 500-metre radius around participant's residence.…”

Section: Green Space and Blue Space Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The LUR model has an adjusted R 2 of 0.72 and leave-one-out cross validation R 2 of 0.65. More details about the model have been reported elsewhere (17). Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) was employed as a proxy for residential air pollution.…”

Section: Mediator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental annoyance was assessed with four items asking about annoyance due to traffic, other neighbourhood noise sources, air pollution, and vibration (25). The mean of responses served as a measure of annoyance in the living environment (17).…”

Section: Mediator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perceived neighbourhood social cohesion was measured with three items from the short version of the Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion questionnaire (PNSC-BF) (46,47). Higher mean score indicates greater perceived neighbourhood social cohesion (17).…”

Section: Mediator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The same mechanisms may apply to blue space (16,17). However, the evidence of the mechanisms underlying the effects of green/blue space is thin and sometimes conflicting (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). In addition, concerns have been voiced about the validity of the methods used to test these mechanisms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Residential green and blue space associated with better mental health: a pilot follow-up study in university students

Dzhambov

2018

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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Previous research has suggested that natural urban environment (green space and blue space) benefit mental health, but only a few longitudinal studies have explored the underlying mechanisms. In this pilot study we aimed to examine mechanisms/variables mediating associations between residential green/blue space and symptoms of anxiety/depression in 109 Bulgarian students from Plovdiv university. The students were followed from the beginning to the end of the school year (October 2017 to May 2018). Residential green space was defined as the mean of the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) in circular buffers of 100, 300, and 500 m around their residences. Blue space was assessed based on its presence in the same buffers. Levels of anxiety/depression were assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. The investigated mediator variables included residential noise (L Aeq ) and air pollution (NO 2 ), environmental annoyance, perceived restorative quality of the neighbourhood, neighbourhood social cohesion, physical activity, and sleep disturbance. Cross-sectional data (obtained at baseline) showed that higher NDVI correlated with better mental health only indirectly through higher physical activity and restorative quality. Longitudinal (follow-up) data showed improved mental health but no significant effect of mediator variables. Similarly, blue space correlated with better mental health in all models, but physical activity and restorative quality were significant mediator variables only in the cross-sectional analysis. Our findings support that green space and blue space are psychologically restorative features in urban environment. Future research should replicate these findings in the general population and employ longitudinal modelling tailored to the specific mechanisms under study.

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Section: Green Space and Blue Space Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mediator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mediator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mediator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Residential green and blue space associated with better mental health: a pilot follow-up study in university students

Dzhambov

2018

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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Association of Urban Green Space With Mental Health and General Health Among Adults in Australia

2019

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Community Asset Density and Past-Year Mental Health Symptoms Among Youths

Szoko,

Ajith,

Kurland

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceMany youths experience mental health challenges. Identifying which neighborhood and community factors may influence mental health may guide health policy and practice.ObjectiveTo explore associations between community assets (eg, schools, parks, libraries, and barbershops) and past-year mental health symptoms among youths.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study leveraged 3 datasets, which were linked by 26 zip codes: the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, the Child Opportunity Index 2.0 database, and the Allegheny County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). The YRBS was administered during the study period in 2018 to youths across 13 high schools in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; the study dates were from October 15 to October 19, 2018. Dates of analysis were from August 1, 2023, to July 15, 2024.ExposuresAsset density in each zip code across 8 asset categories (transportation, education, parks and recreation, faith-based entities, health services, food resources, personal care services, and social infrastructure) was calculated.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcomes were mental health measures included in the past 12 months, which comprised feelings of hopelessness (feeing so sad or hopeless that you stopped doing activities), nonsuicidal self-injury (hurt yourself on purpose without wanting to die), and suicidal ideation (seriously considered attempting suicide). All were operationalized to any or none. Data were analyzed using multivariable generalized linear mixed models and were adjusted for age, sex assigned at birth, race and ethnicity, and identification as sexually or gender diverse.ResultsAmong 6306 students who were eligible for the YRBS based on their enrollment in participating high schools, 4487 students completed surveys, and 2162 were included in the analytic sample (mean [SD] age, 15.8 [1.2] years; 1245 [57.6%] were assigned female sex at birth). Over one-third of the participants (811 [37.5%]) reported past-year feelings of hopelessness; 587 (27.2%), past-year nonsuicidal self-injury; and 450 (20.8%), past-year suicidal ideation. High total asset population density (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.85 [95% CI, 0.75-0.97]; P = .01), as well as population density of transportation assets (AOR, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.66-0.90]; P &lt; .001), educational resources (AOR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.67-0.92]; P = .002), and health services (AOR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.60-0.91]; P = .006), were associated with lower odds of past-year hopelessness after adjusting for covariates. There were no correlations between asset density, Child Opportunity Index, and other mental health measures.Conclusions and RelevanceThe findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that access to certain community assets was associated with lower odds of feelings of hopelessness among youths. Ongoing work is needed to characterize other forms of social and cultural capital, which may mitigate negative mental health outcomes among adolescent youths.

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Multiple pathways link urban green- and bluespace to mental health in young adults

Abstract: We found evidence that having more greenspace near the residence supported mental health through several indirect pathways with serial components. Conversely, bluespace was not clearly associated with mental health.

Cited by 190 publications

References 65 publications

Residential green and blue space associated with better mental health: a pilot follow-up study in university students

Residential green and blue space associated with better mental health: a pilot follow-up study in university students

Association of Urban Green Space With Mental Health and General Health Among Adults in Australia

Community Asset Density and Past-Year Mental Health Symptoms Among Youths

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