Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1942/34033
Title: | Association between urban environment and mental health in Brussels, Belgium | Authors: | Pelgrims, Ingrid Devleesschauwer, Brecht Guyot, Madeleine Keune, Hans NAWROT, Tim REMMEN, Roy Trabelsi, Sonia Thomas, Isabelle AERTS, Raf De Clercq, Eva M. SAENEN, Nelly |
Issue Date: | 2021 | Publisher: | BMC | Source: | BMC PUBLIC HEALTH, 21 (1) (Art N° 635) | Abstract: | BackgroundMental health disorders appear as a growing problem in urban areas. While common mental health disorders are generally linked to demographic and socioeconomic factors, little is known about the interaction with the urban environment. With growing urbanization, more and more people are exposed to environmental stressors potentially contributing to increased stress and impairing mental health. It is therefore important to identify features of the urban environment that affect the mental health of city dwellers. The aim of this study was to define associations of combined long-term exposure to air pollution, noise, surrounding green at different scales, and building morphology with several dimensions of mental health in Brussels.MethodsResearch focuses on the inhabitants of the Brussels Capital Region older than 15years. The epidemiological study was carried out based on the linkage of data from the national health interview surveys (2008 and 2013) and specifically developed indicators describing each participant's surroundings in terms of air quality, noise, surrounding green, and building morphology. These data are based on the geographical coordinates of the participant's residence and processed using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Mental health status was approached through several validated indicators: the Symptom Checklist-90-R subscales for depressive, anxiety and sleeping disorders and the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire for general well-being. For each mental health outcome, single and multi-exposure models were performed through multivariate logistic regressions.ResultsOur results suggest that traffic-related air pollution (black carbon, NO2, PM10) exposure was positively associated with higher odds of depressive disorders. No association between green surrounding, noise, building morphology and mental health could be demonstrated.ConclusionsThese findings have important implications because most of the Brussel's population resides in areas where particulate matters concentrations are above the World Health Organization guidelines. This suggests that policies aiming to reduce traffic related-air pollution could also reduce the burden of depressive disorders in Brussels. | Notes: | Pelgrims, I (corresponding author), Sciensano, Risk & Hlth Impact Assessment, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, BE-1050 Brussels, Belgium.; Pelgrims, I (corresponding author), Univ Ghent, Appl Math Comp Sci & Stat, Krijgslaan 281, BE-9000 Ghent, Belgium.; Pelgrims, I (corresponding author), Sciensano, Epidemiol & Publ Hlth, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, BE-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Ingrid.pelgrims@sciensano.be |
Other: | Pelgrims, I (corresponding author), Sciensano, Risk & Hlth Impact Assessment, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, BE-1050 Brussels, Belgium ; Univ Ghent, Appl Math Comp Sci & Stat, Krijgslaan 281, BE-9000 Ghent, Belgium ; Sciensano, Epidemiol & Publ Hlth, Rue Juliette Wytsman 14, BE-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Ingrid.pelgrims@sciensano.be | Keywords: | Environmental epidemiology;Air pollution;Green space;Noise;Building morphology;Mental health | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/34033 | e-ISSN: | 1471-2458 | DOI: | 10.1186/s12889-021-10557-7 | ISI #: | WOS:000636776100003 | Rights: | The Author(s). 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution | Validations: | ecoom 2022 |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
s12889-021-10557-7.pdf | Published version | 2.87 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
37
checked on Apr 16, 2024
Page view(s)
62
checked on Sep 7, 2022
Download(s)
40
checked on Sep 7, 2022
Google ScholarTM
Check
Altmetric
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.