The Effects of Urban Green Space on Depressive Symptoms of Mid-Aged and Elderly Urban Residents in China: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Rui Zhou, Ying-Jing Zheng, Jing-Yi Yun and Hong-Mei Wang
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Rui Zhou: Department of Social Medicine of School of Public Health, and Department of Pharmacy of the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Ying-Jing Zheng: Department of Social Medicine of School of Public Health, and Department of Pharmacy of the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Jing-Yi Yun: Department of Social Medicine of School of Public Health, and Department of Pharmacy of the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Hong-Mei Wang: Department of Social Medicine of School of Public Health, and Department of Pharmacy of the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of this study is to assess the impacts of urban green space on depressive symptoms among Chinese urban residents aged 45 and older. In total, 7397 urban respondents were included in this study. Each respondent participated in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Wave 3 (2015). Environmental-level variables were retrieved from the National Bureau of Statistics database. Both unadjusted and adjusted methods were used in the multilevel regression analysis. Almost one-third of the sample population suffered from depressive symptoms (31.20%). The multilevel logistic regression model showed that green coverage ratio of city-built districts is negatively associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms among urban mid-aged (OR = 0.79, p < 0.05) and elderly (OR = 0.75, p < 0.05) residents, and the public recreational green space helps to reduce elderly people’s depressive symptoms (OR = 0.77, p < 0.05). This study adds insights about the impact of green space and other environmental factors on depressive symptoms among mid-aged and elderly urban dwellers. It is important to provide enough and accessible overall urban green spaces; additionally, attention should also be paid to specific green space forms such as public recreational green space.

Keywords: depression; green space; mid-aged and elderly; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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