Effect of Green Space Exposure on the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Mental Health Among Older Canadians

Abstract

Green space is considered to be a health-promoting feature of both natural and built environments and has the potential to influence mental health outcomes at both an individual and population level. Green space interventions, such as incorporating grass and trees into built environments, have been suggested as a strategy to improve population-level mental health outcomes and reduce socioeconomic-related inequalities in mental health. However, most green space research to date has neglected to address whether green space exposure differentially affects mental health outcomes for individuals with different levels of socioeconomic status. Our study explored the relationship between green space, socioeconomic status, and mental health outcomes in Canada using multivariate regression models, as well as the association between green space and socioeconomic-related mental health inequalities measured using the concentration index. We found a significant moderating effect of green space exposure on depression score when using self-rated social standing as a measure of socioeconomic status, but did not measure any statistically significant associations between green space exposure and socioeconomic-related mental health inequalities. Our results suggest there is a relationship between green space exposure and mental health in Canada, however further research is warranted using more descriptive measures of green space as well as more geographically defined populations when measuring mental health inequalities.