A City Lab article, “Living Near A Transit Line Might be Good for your Mental Health,” talks about the effect that living near a transit line has for the mental health of senior citizens. According to this article, access to public transit will have beneficial effects towards mental health in older populations. This was based on a 2015 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that looks at the effect of the built environment on the mental health of its residents across age groups in Turin, Italy. They measured the mental health outcomes based on the incidence rate ratio of the use of anti-depressants across socio-economic variables and built environment measures.
Both the article and the paper mention that density and access to public transit had a positive effect on mental health especially for older women (Jaffe 2015; Melis et al., 2015). The article also says that the older populations were prescribed fewer anti-depressants when living near public transit or in areas with a higher population density. However, looking at the actual statistics and comparing to the male population, this might be a slight exaggeration. When looking at close proximity to public transit, the incidence rate ratios for prescription medications for women are all statistically significant, but the protective impact decreases in higher age groups; from the 20 to 34 years age group there was only a 6% reduction in risk in being prescribed anti-depressants and this went down to a 5% reduction risk in the 35 and up age groups. Compared to the women, men in the 50-64 years age group who lived near public transit had a 6-7% reduced risk in being described anti-depressants and a 7% reduced risk when living in a densely populated area.
The article and paper both were transparent in mentioning the limitations of the study. The article actually mentioned a NIH study which showed that living near public transit actually increased the risk for symptoms of depression among youth in Boston (Jaffe, 2015; Duncan et. Al, 2013). In addition, tracking the use of antidepressants does not fully encompass those who suffer from depression (Jaffe, 2015; Melis et al., 2015).
That being said, there still was a reduced risk in the prescribing of anti-depressants across older populations which indicates that proximity to public transit could have a positive effect on one’s mental health. A health practitioner could find this policy useful when getting involved in transportation policy. Health practitioners can inform city planners of the positive effect of public transportation on the mental health of senior citizens and advocate for more transportation services in areas that have a significant elderly population. In addition, for an area with a more established public transportation network, practitioners could advocate for more paratransit services which will increase accessibility for older people with disabilities. While this study does have some limitations, it is the first of its kind that explored the link between various elements of the built environment and mental health.
SOURCES
Duncan, D. T., Piras, G., Dunn, E. C., Johnson, R. M., Melly, S. J., & Molnar, B. E. (2013). The built environment and depressive symptoms among urban youth: A spatial regression study. Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology, 5, 11–25.
Jaffe, E. (1, Dec 2015). Living Near a Transit Line Might Be Good for Your Mental Health. City Lab.
Retrieved from http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/12/study-transit-density-mental-health-depression-turin/417969/
Melis, G., Gelormino, E., Marra, G., Ferracin, E., & Costa, G. (2015). The Effects of the Urban Built Environment on Mental Health: A Cohort Study in a Large Northern Italian City. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(12), 14898–14915.
Wow! How awesome would it be if a simple distance from a transit line could actually be a causation for lowered depression? Forget living near work, I want to live right by the bus stop!
This study makes a whole lot of sense, as close proximity to a transit stop would hopefully mean more usage of public transit, but does it? Did the researchers actually look and see if all of their subjects were using transit lines? Or if they were living in senior homes or alone or with family? Mental health can be affected by so many aspects of life.
But I personally think there should be public transit everywhere because trains are so fun!
Interesting thought, that living near a public transportation line has a positive effect on mental health. I would like to understand the reasoning? Is it because they are more likely to go somewhere? Do they not feel confined to their home/ room and have the accessibility to get out and run errands? I can see how not feeling trapped would decrease the chance of depression. I would like to know more research from this study. Did the individuals studied have a prior diagnoses of a mental health illness? Do they utilize the public transit lines? Does the public transportation have stops at places like grocery stores, doctors office, and other places that the older population frequent? I believe that this type of study has the potential to be extremely insightful and increase the use of public transportation.
I think it is interesting that the study in Italy found that living near transit lines had beneficial effects, while a similar study in Boston found adverse effects of living near transit lines. I wonder if the use of the transit systems differ in these places? In other words, are people in Boston using this form of transportation to get to work while people in Italy utilize transit more for pleasure? Mental health can be impacted by so many things, social support included. This is a very interesting study and article that seems useful in finding ways to support populations that are at risk for suffering from depression.