Green Living: Access to Green Spaces Improves Health

New research published in the Lancet shows that access to green spaces, such as parks and river corridors reduces health inequality. The health gap between richer and poorer residents in areas with access to green spaces was half of that in areas where such access was not possible.

Researchers examined records from more than 360,000 deaths across England (excluding men and women above the standard age of retirement). Access to green spaces was defined as the proportion of such spaces in a resident’s local area, excluding gardens. The study concentrated on those in the lowest to middle income brackets.

Links were revealed between the levels of income and access to green space, in relation to deaths from all causes, but particularly circulatory causes, such as heart disease. Researchers surmise that access to green spaces encourages activity and exercise, whilst other studies have linked access to green spaces to stress levels.

The study demonstrates that differences in health inequality can exist between populations exposed to the same welfare state, health service and income, but living in different types of physical environment; with access or not to green areas. The researchers recommend that the impact of the physical environment on health inequality be taken into account in urban planning and development.

Mitchell, R. and Popham, F. (2008). Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. The Lancet. 372(9650): 1655-1660.

Modelling the Health Impacts of Climate Change

A new report suggests that more needs to be done to adapt systems models to adequately reflect the dangers posed to human health by climate change.

Most research on the impacts of climate change has focused on the environmental consequences, rather than the health impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that it is very likely that climate change will increase threats to human health. Direct impacts are posed by an increase in the incidence of extreme temperature and weather events, whilst indirect effects could be the increase in infectious disease, for example malaria, caused by warmer temperatures and changes in the hydrologic cycle.

Modelling the health impacts of, for example, malaria, and how this may change under climate change scenarios, is complex, due to the range of factors which can affect the geographic range of the vector, such as drug resistance and economic development. The report suggests that new models should better account for these drivers and develop country-specific projections of risk.

The priorities of healthcare funders are identified as one of the key factors limiting development of these models. To date, healthcare funders have had little interest in developing interdisciplinary models - for example modelling the interaction between land-use and climate change on human health.