TY - JOUR T1 - Morbidity is related to a green living environment JF - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health JO - J Epidemiol Community Health SP - 967 LP - 973 DO - 10.1136/jech.2008.079038 VL - 63 IS - 12 AU - J Maas AU - R A Verheij AU - S de Vries AU - P Spreeuwenberg AU - F G Schellevis AU - P P Groenewegen Y1 - 2009/12/01 UR - http://jech.bmj.com/content/63/12/967.abstract N2 - Background: As a result of increasing urbanisation, people face the prospect of living in environments with few green spaces. There is increasing evidence for a positive relation between green space in people’s living environment and self-reported indicators of physical and mental health. This study investigates whether physician-assessed morbidity is also related to green space in people’s living environment.Methods: Morbidity data were derived from electronic medical records of 195 general practitioners in 96 Dutch practices, serving a population of 345 143 people. Morbidity was classified by the general practitioners according to the International Classification of Primary Care. The percentage of green space within a 1 km and 3 km radius around the postal code coordinates was derived from an existing database and was calculated for each household. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.Results: The annual prevalence rate of 15 of the 24 disease clusters was lower in living environments with more green space in a 1 km radius. The relation was strongest for anxiety disorder and depression. The relation was stronger for children and people with a lower socioeconomic status. Furthermore, the relation was strongest in slightly urban areas and not apparent in very strongly urban areas.Conclusion: This study indicates that the previously established relation between green space and a number of self-reported general indicators of physical and mental health can also be found for clusters of specific physician-assessed morbidity. The study stresses the importance of green space close to home for children and lower socioeconomic groups. ER -