The existing literature suggests an association between the physical environment and mental health but also complex relationships between the social and the physical environment as well as between objective and subjective measures of the environment. In this study, we attempted to explore the role of the residential neighbourhood's physical environment in adolescent mental health, taking this complexity into account. Using data on 3683 ten-to 15year-olds from England and Wales who participated in Understanding Society, we investigated the role of neighbourhood greenspace and air pollution in adolescent mental health (measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) while controlling for measures of neighbourhood and family socio-economic disadvantage as well as subjective perceptions of social cohesion, crime, safety, and noise in the neighbourhood. In linear regression models, greenspace and air pollution could not predict mental health. However, fear of being a victim of crime was a consistent predictor of mental health and behaviour, indicating the essential role of young people's subjective experience of their neighbourhoods for their mental health and well-being.

Young children's exposures to indoor damp or condensation and secondhand smoke are likely to be detrimental for their cognitive outcomes. However, there do not appear to be any short-term effects of NO.

Background This study explored the role of outdoor air pollution [nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 )] and indoor air quality (measured with damp or condensation and secondhand smoke exposures) at age 9 months in emotional, conduct and hyperactivity problems at age 3 years. Method Data from 11,625 Millennium Cohort Study children living in England and Wales were modelled using multilevel regression. Results After adjusting for a host of confounders, having a damp or condensation problem at home was related to both emotional and conduct problems. Secondhand smoke exposure was associated with all three problem types. Associations with outdoor air pollution were less consistent. Conclusions Exposures to damp or condensation and secondhand smoke in the home are likely to be risk factors for child emotional and behavioural problems. Parents should continue to be educated about the dangers of exposing their children to poor air quality at home.

Inflammation has been proposed as a pathway from adverse physical environments to poor physical and mental health. We estimated longitudinal associations of neighbourhood-level air pollution and greenspace with individual-level inflammation (measured with C-reactive protein and fibrinogen), using data from over 8,000 adults living in England and Wales who participated in Understanding Society. Using linear regression, we found that neighbourhoodlevel nitrogen dioxide predicted later levels of fibrinogen, but not C-reactive protein. Area air pollution, but not area greenery, appears to predict inflammation, even after accounting for social deprivation in the area.

Purpose Low neighbourhood cohesion and increased levels of inflammation are independent predictors of psychological distress. In this study we explored if they also interact to predict it. Methods Our sample was 9,393 adult participants of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), a large longitudinal household panel study in the UK. Inflammation was measured using C-reactive protein levels. Perceived neighbourhood cohesion was measured using a 13-item questionnaire. Psychological distress was measured with the General Health Questionnaire-12. Results Perceived neighbourhood cohesion and inflammation retained their significant main effects on psychological distress even after adjustment for confounders (age, gender, ethnicity, partner status, education, smoking status, obesity and urbanicity). The effect of neighbourhood cohesion was larger. However, we did not find evidence for an interactive association between the two. Conclusions Perceived neighbourhood cohesion was inversely related to psychological distress, over and above other important person- and neighbourhood-level characteristics. Inflammation was also associated with psychological distress, albeit less strongly. If these associations are causal, they suggest that promoting neighbourhood cohesion can alleviate some of the burden associated with psychological distress.