ArticleJournal of environmental psychology2026
Gardening, healthy aging, and longevity: Longitudinal evidence from 25 years of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921.
Article in Journal of environmental psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Epigenetic Age Acceleration as a Modifiable Public Health Target: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Environmental, Behavioral, and Social Determinants with Development of the MEAB-Index.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Gardening is a common leisure activity among older adults, yet its potential to support healthy aging remains underexplored, particularly in longitudinal contexts and across multiple aging domains. This study investigated whether gardening frequency was associated with psychological, physical, and biological aging markers, as well as mortality, in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921). Gardening frequency was assessed via questionnaire at a mean age of 79 years (baseline: 1999-2001) in 475 participants. Aging markers were measured at 79, 83, 87, and 90 years. Psychological markers (quality of life, psychological wellbeing) were self-reported; physical function markers (lung function, gait speed, grip strength, functional ability) were objectively assessed; and biological markers (telomere length, DNA methylation-based PhenoAge) were blood-derived. Survival was tracked using 25-year mortality linkage data. Analyses included linear regression, growth curve modeling, and Cox proportional hazards, adjusted for individual- and neighbourhood-level covariates. Of the sample, 207 gardened frequently, 78 sometimes, and 190 never or rarely. At baseline (age 79), higher gardening frequency was associated with better psychological wellbeing, stronger physical function, and longer telomeres. Longitudinally, more frequent gardening predicted slower declines in gait speed and telomere attrition from age 79 to 90. Frequent gardeners had a 22 % lower mortality risk (HR = 0.78, 95 % CI: 0.62-0.97) than those who never or rarely gardened. Associations were not substantially confounded by sociodemographic, lifestyle, or physical activity factors. Our results suggest that gardening may support wellbeing and longevity, with potential implications for aging in place for older adults.
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