Healthy High Density Cities Lab, HKUrbanLab, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Healthy High Density Cities Lab, HKUrbanLab, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Lancet Planet Health. 2018 Apr;2(4):e162-e173. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30051-2. Epub 2018 Apr 4.
Increased urbanisation and the associated reduced contact of individuals with natural environments have led to a rise in mental disorders, including depression. Residential greenness, a fundamental component of urban design, has been shown to reduce the public health burden of mental disorders. The present study investigates the association between residential green exposure and prevalence of major depressive disorders using a large and diverse cross-sectional dataset from the UK Biobank.
In this cross-sectional, observational, associational study, we used baseline data from the UK Biobank cohort of participants aged 37-73 years from across the UK. Environmental exposure data were derived from a modelled and linked built environment database. Residential greenness was assessed with a 0·5 m resolution Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, which is derived from spectral reflectance measurements in remotely sensed colour infrared data and measured within geocoded dwelling catchments. Other environment metrics included street-level movement density, terrain, and fine particulate exposures. A series of logistic models examined associations between residential greenness and odds of major depressive disorder after adjusting for activity-influencing environments and individual covariates.
Of 122 993 participants with data on major depressive disorder, the study analytical sample comprised 94 879 (77·1%) participants recruited across ten UK Biobank assessment centres between April 29, 2009, and Oct 1, 2010. A protective effect of greenness on depression was consistently observed, with 4·0% lower odds of major depressive disorder per interquartile increment in Normalised Difference Vegetation Index greenness (odds ratio 0·960, 95% CI 0·93-0·99; p=0·0044). Interaction analyses indicated that the beneficial effects of greenness were more pronounced among women, participants younger than 60 years, and participants residing in areas with low neighbourhood socioeconomic status or high urbanicity.
The results point to the benefits of well designed green environments on mental health. Further longitudinal studies are needed to decipher causal pathways. In the UK, policies aimed at optimising allocation and design of green spaces might help preserve psychological ecosystem services, thereby, improving the mental wellbeing of populations and enhancing the mental capital of cities.
University of Hong Kong, UK Biobank, and the UK Economic & Social Research Council.
城市化的加剧以及人们与自然环境接触的减少，导致了精神障碍（包括抑郁症）的发病率上升。住宅绿化作为城市设计的一个基本组成部分，已被证明可以减轻精神障碍的公共卫生负担。本研究使用来自英国生物库的大型、多样化的横断面数据集，调查了住宅绿化暴露与主要抑郁症患病率之间的关联。
在这项横断面、观察性、关联性研究中，我们使用了来自英国生物库的参与者的基线数据，这些参与者年龄在 37-73 岁之间，来自英国各地。环境暴露数据来自于一个经过建模和链接的建筑环境数据库。住宅绿化采用 0.5 米分辨率的归一化植被指数来评估，该指数源自遥测彩色红外数据中的光谱反射率测量值，并在地理编码的住宅流域内进行测量。其他环境指标包括街道级活动密度、地形和细颗粒物暴露。一系列逻辑模型在调整了影响活动的环境和个体协变量后，研究了住宅绿化与主要抑郁症患病几率之间的关联。
在 122993 名有主要抑郁症数据的参与者中，研究分析样本包括 94879 名（77.1%）参与者，他们是在 2009 年 4 月 29 日至 2010 年 10 月 1 日期间在英国生物库的十个评估中心招募的。绿色环境对抑郁症有保护作用，归一化植被指数每增加一个四分位距，患主要抑郁症的几率就会降低 4.0%（优势比 0.960，95%置信区间 0.93-0.99；p=0.0044）。交互分析表明，绿色环境的有益效果在女性、60 岁以下的参与者以及居住在邻里社会经济地位较低或城市化程度较高地区的参与者中更为明显。
结果表明，精心设计的绿色环境对心理健康有益。需要进一步的纵向研究来阐明因果途径。在英国，旨在优化绿色空间分配和设计的政策可能有助于保护心理生态系统服务，从而改善人口的心理健康水平，提高城市的心理资本。
香港大学、英国生物库和英国经济和社会研究理事会。
