Living in greener areas reduces chance of depression in over 65s

The likelihood of being depressed is significantly reduced for over-65s living in areas with more green spaces and vegetation, research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found. It analysed data of 249,405 over-65s €“ of whom 9.25% were living with a depression diagnosis – living in Miami Dade County who were enrolled in Medicare, a United States health insurance programme. It is the first study to analyse the dataset by controlling for demographics €“ including income – and other illnesses, as well as comparing the impact of high and moderate levels of greenness to low levels of greenness on depression.