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

Astell-Burt, Thomas; Feng, Xiaoqi

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8209

Cited by 261 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…While these unadjusted findings were in line with growing evidence 40 , it may be that environmental exposures exert stronger influences earlier in development 41 , or shape lifetime mental health risk rather than incident cases in a relatively short follow-up period. In addition, sub-features of the natural environment (e.g., tree versus grass coverage) have shown divergent effects on mental health risk 42 , requiring more nuanced study than possible here.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A two-stage approach to identifying and validating modifiable factors for the prevention of depression

Choi¹,

Stein²,

Nishimi³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background: Although depression is recognized as the leading cause of disability worldwide, decades of research have identified few actionable preventive factors. Using phenotypic and genomic data from the UK Biobank, we took advantage of a unique opportunity to screen a wide range of potentially modifiable factors that could offset known risk factors for depression. Methods:We curated baseline data on more than 100 lifestyle and environmental factors in participants' lives, including behavioral (e.g., exercise, sleep, media use, diet), social (e.g., support, activities), and environmental (e.g., greenspace, pollution) variables. In a follow-up survey, participants reported on their traumatic life experiences and mental health, including depression. Polygenic risk scores for depression were generated based on large-scale genomewide association results. Excluding those meeting criteria for depression at baseline, we identified at-risk individuals at high predicted probability (> 90th percentile) for clinically significant depression at follow-up based on their (i) polygenic risk, or (ii) reported traumatic life events. Using a factors-wide design corrected for multiple testing and adjusted for potential confounders, we identified modifiable factors associated with follow-up depression in the full sample and among at-risk individuals. Using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design, we then examined which significant factors showed potential causal influences on depression risk, or vice versa. Results: A range of baseline modifiable factors were prospectively associated with follow-up depression, including factors related to social engagement, physical activity, media use, and diet. MR follow-up analyses provided further support for the effects of social support-seeking, TV use, and other factors on depression risk. Conclusion:As the field increasingly quantifies the role of genetic factors in complex conditions such as depression, knowledge of modifiable factors that could offset one's genetic risk has MODIFIABLE FACTORS FOR DEPRESSION 3 become highly relevant. Here, we present an approach to screening for potentially modifiable factors that may offset the risk of depression in general and among at-risk individuals. In light of the burden of disease associated with depression and the urgent need for actionable preventive strategies, this approach could help prioritize candidates for follow-up studies including clinical trials for depression prevention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A two-stage approach to identifying and validating modifiable factors for the prevention of depression

Choi¹,

Stein²,

Nishimi³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Amid these challenges, urban green space is expected to provide positive effects on different aspects in the city, such as reduction of air and water pollution [2][3][4], mitigation of urban heat effect [5,6], and various aspects of public health [7][8][9][10][11]. These benefits that urban green space provides are strongly related with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standardized Green View Index and Quantification of Different Metrics of Urban Green Vegetation

Kumakoshi

Chan²,

Koizumi

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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Urban greenery is considered an important factor in sustainable development and people’s quality of life in the city. To account for urban green vegetation, Green View Index (GVI), which captures the visibility of greenery at street level, has been used. However, as GVI is point-based estimation, when aggregated at an area-level by mean or median, it is sensitive to the location of sampled sites, overweighing the values of densely located sites. To make estimation at area-level more robust, this study aims to (1) propose an improved indicator of greenery visibility (standardized GVI; sGVI), and (2) quantify the relation between sGVI and other green metrics. Experiment on an hypothetical setting confirmed that bias from site location can be mitigated by sGVI. Furthermore, comparing sGVI and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at the city block level in Yokohama city, Japan, we found that sGVI captures the presence of vegetation better in the city center, whereas NDVI is better at capturing vegetation in parks and forests, principally due to the different viewpoints (eye-level perception and top-down eyesight). These tools provide a foundation for accessing the effect of vegetation in urban landscapes in a more robust matter, enabling comparison on any arbitrary geographical scale.

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“…It is associated with a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders (Lederbogen et al, 2011), including anxiety and depression (Peen et al, 2010) and psychotic disorders (Frank et al, 2004;Kirkbride et al, 2018;Krabbendam & van Os, 2005;Pedersen & Mortensen, 2001). Psychosocial stressors in urban environments such as infringement of personal space, exposure to crime, increased social competition, social fragmentation (Bagheri et al, 2019) and the effect of high density and/or high rise living, negatively affect mental wellbeing (Helbich et al, 2018;van den Berg et al, 2016); increase the incidence of depression (Tomita et al, 2017) and suicide rates (Helbich et al, 2018); while the relative availability of walkability and urban green space (Astell-Burt & Feng, 2019) have an impact on social cohesiveness (Kuo et al, 1998), and other enablers of mental wellbeing such as participation in physical activity (Bixby et al, 2015). Global strategies on urban mental health care have been included in the ICircle declaration (I-CIRCLE, n.d.), and Cities Rise (Underhill C, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Mental Healthcare Provision in Urban Areas: A Comparative Analysis for Informing Local Policy

Furst

Salinas-Pérez

Gutiérrez-Colosía

et al. 2020

Preprint

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ObjectiveUrbanisation presents specific challenges for the mental wellbeing of the population. An understanding of availability of existing service provision in urban areas is necessary to plan for the needs of people with mental illness in these contexts to identify gaps in care provision and inform policy and planning. This study aims to provide an analysis of the availability and diversity of mental health care in urban areas in Australia , and compare it with benchmark areas in Europe (Finland and Spain) and South America (Chile). MethodDESDE-LTC, an instrument for service classification and description of services providing long term care was used to analyse and compare service provision in Australia (Australian Capital Territory (ACT)), to other urban areas in Australia (Western Sydney, Perth North and South East Sydney) and to benchmark areas in other countries (Spain, Finland and Chile), using a standard healthcare ecosystems approach. Services from all relevant care sectors were calculated per 100,000 adults.ResultsWe identified commonalities in the pattern of mental health care in urban regions in Australia when compared to urban regions internationally, as well as gaps in care provision common to all study areas.ConclusionThese results highlight the relevance of an ecosystems approach to service planning in mental health care at the local level, and the use of a standardised instrument able to provide valid comparisons. There is a need for models of care sensitive to mental health care ecosystem indicators.

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

Abstract: This cohort study assesses whether urban green space, tree canopy, grass, and other low-lying vegetation are associated with better mental health among Australian adults.

Cited by 261 publications

References 44 publications

A two-stage approach to identifying and validating modifiable factors for the prevention of depression

A two-stage approach to identifying and validating modifiable factors for the prevention of depression

Standardized Green View Index and Quantification of Different Metrics of Urban Green Vegetation

Patterns of Mental Healthcare Provision in Urban Areas: A Comparative Analysis for Informing Local Policy

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