ArticleBMC public health2024
Proximity to public green spaces and depressive symptoms among South African residents: a population-based study.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- An explainable geospatial framework for fine-scale Fatty Liver Disease (FLD) risk assessment: roles of social economy, built environment, and psychology.BMC public health · 2026Article
- The correlation between depression and haemodialysis adequacy in chronic kidney disease patients in South Africa.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2026Article
- Mobility, mental well-being and Neighborhood walkability among older adults in Nigeria: an urban perspective.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Impact of Urban Green on Population Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
- Urban green spaces and mental health: Findings from Uganda.Hygiene and environmental health advances · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExposure to green spaces has been suggested to improve mental health and may reduce the risk of depression. However, there is generally limited evidence on the association between green spaces and depression originating from low-and middle-income countries and Africa in particular. Here, we investigate the association between proximity to public green spaces and depressive symptoms among residents of Gauteng Province, South Africa.
methodsWe used data from the 2017/2018 Gauteng quality of life survey. We included all individuals aged 18 years or older residing in the nine municipalities of Gauteng Province that completed the survey (n = 24,341). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. Proximity to public green spaces was defined as self-reported walking time (either less or greater than 15 min) from individuals' homes to the nearest public green space. To assess the association between access to public green spaces and depressive symptoms, we used mixed-effects models, adjusted for age, sex, population group (African, Indian/Asian, Coloured (mixed race), and White), educational attainment, and municipality. We additionally performed stratified analyses by age, sex, educational attainment, and population group to evaluate whether associations differed within subgroups. Associations are expressed as prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
resultsWe observed a 6% (PR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.92-0.96) prevalence reduction in depressive symptoms for individuals who reported that the nearest public green space was less than 15 min from their homes as compared to those who reported > 15 min. After stratification, this inverse association was stronger among females, individuals aged 35-59 years,those with higher levels of educational attainment, and Coloured individuals as compared to their counterparts.
conclusionOur findings suggest that public green spaces close to residential homes may be associated with a reduction in the occurrence of depressive symptoms among urban populations in resource-constrained settings like South Africa.
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