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"Greenness" Linked to Lower Mortality Rates in Women

www.fhwa.dot.gov

  Women live longer in areas with more green vegetation, according to a new report. Dr. Bonnie Joubert with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says the study found women with the highest levels of vegetation, or greenness, near their homes had a 12 percent lower death rate than women with the lowest levels of vegetation.

“It makes us naturally reflect on our own environments, both around our home and where we spend time outside of the home. So I think it’s encouraging for policy makers thinking about potential benefits of increasing greenness in urban areas.”

She says researchers found that women living in the greenest areas had a 41 percent lower death rate for kidney disease, a 34 percent lower rate for respiratory disease, and a 13 percent lower rate for cancer deaths than women living in the least green areas.

Joubert notes that scientists were able to separate the impact of green vegetation by accounting for other factors that also contribute to higher death rates – including age, ethnicity, smoking, and socioeconomic status. She adds that the research also suggests how an environment with trees, shrubs, and plants might lower mortality rates.

“The downstream effects that an individual could have would be more social engagement, better mental health and then also increased physical activity and reduced air pollution. The authors note all of those things as contributing factors.”

The study examined greenness around the homes of more than 100-thousand women participating in a separate study using high-resolution satellite imagery, and documented changes in vegetation and more than 86-hundred deaths from 2000 to 2008.