People who live near green spaces may be less likely than those surrounded by concrete to suffer a range of health problems, particularly depression and anxiety.

    Researchers found that among more than 300,000 Dutch adults and children, those living near more "green spaces" tended to have lower rates of 15 different health conditions.

    They found the link was especially strong when it came to depression and anxiety, suggesting that respite from stress and the hustle and bustle of urban life may be an important for reason for the benefits of green.

    Past studies have found that people who live in greener environments tend to report better subjective health.

    The findings build on evidence that green space has a positive effect on health and is more than just a luxury good.

    They gathered their information from the electronic medical records of 345,143 patients of about 200 general practitioners.

    They used an environmental database on land use to gauge the percentage of green space in the patients' neighborhoods.

    Overall, the study found, greater amounts of green space within one kilometer -- or 0.6 miles -- of people's homes was related to small reductions in the risks of health problems like heart disease, diabetes, chronic neck and back pain, asthma and migraine.

    The strongest connection was seen with depression and anxiety.

    Among people who lived in areas with 90 percent green space, for example, just over 2 percent had been diagnosed with depression, compared with just over 3 percent of those living in areas with 10 percent green space.

    Greener environs could potentially have positive affects on health through a number of pathways, including better air quality and more opportunities for exercise.

    But, the researchers added, the link with depression and anxiety suggests that stress reduction and a lesser likelihood of "attention fatigue" could be especially important. The study also found that the relationship between green space and health was particularly strong among children and lower-income groups, which, the researchers speculate, could be because they tend to spend much of their time close to home.

    居住地附近綠樹環(huán)繞的人們比那些被鋼筋水泥包裹的人們患病幾率要少，尤其是抑郁癥和焦慮。

    研究者對30多萬名丹麥的兒童和成人做了研究，居住地周圍有"綠地"的人們的健康狀況高于其他人15個百分點。

    他們發(fā)現(xiàn)這之間的聯(lián)系非常密切，抑郁和焦慮時，建議暫時離開緊張、忙亂、喧鬧的都市生活中，綠色可能有助于緩解這種情況。

    以往的研究也發(fā)現(xiàn)，在綠色的環(huán)境中居住的人們主觀上感覺更健康一些。

    這一結(jié)論的依據(jù)是綠色對健康有積極的影響，并不僅僅是一個奢侈的享受。

    他們的結(jié)論來源于對200名醫(yī)生的接診的345,143名患者的電子病歷進行分析后得出的。

    他們利用環(huán)境數(shù)據(jù)來測算病人周圍的綠地面積。

    總的說來，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，居住地周圍1千米或0.6英里范圍內(nèi)的綠地能夠減少患病的危險，如心臟病、糖尿病、慢性頸椎和背部疾病、哮喘和偏頭疼等。

    與抑郁癥和焦慮疾病的關(guān)系最為明顯。

    舉例來說，居住地周圍90%都是綠地，只有2%的人被診斷患有抑郁癥，而周圍環(huán)境只有10%的綠地，患抑郁癥的人數(shù)超過3%.

    綠色環(huán)境可以從以下幾個方面給健康帶來積極影響，包括更好的空氣質(zhì)量和更多的鍛煉機會。

    但是研究者還說，抑郁和焦慮的發(fā)病與壓力過大和"心力憔悴"也有很大的關(guān)系。研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，綠地和健康的關(guān)系對于兒童和低收入人群更為密切，研究者推測 可能是因為她們呆在家中的時間更多的緣故。