The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression
Abstract Depression is highly clustered among people with low socioeconomic status (SES). Improved environments are known to be potentially beneficial, but the extent to which environments alleviate socioeconomic inequalities in depression remains unclear. Based on 334,536 UK Biobank participants, w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | npj Mental Health Research |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-025-00152-8 |
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| _version_ | 1849331705497780224 |
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| author | Qi Wu Chenshuang Li Luxia Zhang Ying Zhou |
| author_facet | Qi Wu Chenshuang Li Luxia Zhang Ying Zhou |
| author_sort | Qi Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Depression is highly clustered among people with low socioeconomic status (SES). Improved environments are known to be potentially beneficial, but the extent to which environments alleviate socioeconomic inequalities in depression remains unclear. Based on 334,536 UK Biobank participants, we quantified mediating roles of green space and air pollution in association between SES and depression, and examined interactive and joint relationships between SES and environments on depression. Co-improvements in green space and air quality significantly mediated 2.7% of this association. Interaction analysis indicated stronger environmental benefits for low-SES populations. Joint analysis revealed that low-SES adults in favorable environments had a 14.6% lower depression risk than medium-SES individuals in unfavorable conditions, with more pronounced effects among females (16.4%) and older adults (9.8%). Our findings emphasize mitigating role of upstream environmental factors involving green space and air quality in tackling socioeconomic inequalities in depression, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly and females. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cc58d57fb17e4b7ab5900e93f4718708 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-4251 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Mental Health Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-cc58d57fb17e4b7ab5900e93f47187082025-08-20T03:46:25ZengNature Portfolionpj Mental Health Research2731-42512025-08-01411910.1038/s44184-025-00152-8The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depressionQi Wu0Chenshuang Li1Luxia Zhang2Ying Zhou3Center for Smart and Healthy Buildings, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyCenter for Smart and Healthy Buildings, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyNational Institute of Health Data Science, Peking UniversityCenter for Smart and Healthy Buildings, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyAbstract Depression is highly clustered among people with low socioeconomic status (SES). Improved environments are known to be potentially beneficial, but the extent to which environments alleviate socioeconomic inequalities in depression remains unclear. Based on 334,536 UK Biobank participants, we quantified mediating roles of green space and air pollution in association between SES and depression, and examined interactive and joint relationships between SES and environments on depression. Co-improvements in green space and air quality significantly mediated 2.7% of this association. Interaction analysis indicated stronger environmental benefits for low-SES populations. Joint analysis revealed that low-SES adults in favorable environments had a 14.6% lower depression risk than medium-SES individuals in unfavorable conditions, with more pronounced effects among females (16.4%) and older adults (9.8%). Our findings emphasize mitigating role of upstream environmental factors involving green space and air quality in tackling socioeconomic inequalities in depression, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly and females.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-025-00152-8 |
| spellingShingle | Qi Wu Chenshuang Li Luxia Zhang Ying Zhou The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression npj Mental Health Research |
| title | The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression |
| title_full | The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression |
| title_fullStr | The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression |
| title_full_unstemmed | The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression |
| title_short | The mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression |
| title_sort | mitigation effects of residential green space and low air pollution on socioeconomic inequalities in depression |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-025-00152-8 |
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