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Living in a neighborhood where trees proliferate would help lengthen the life expectancy of its inhabitants. This is the conclusion of a recent study carried out in the United States.
We know the benefits of gardening and we know that being in regular contact with nature is beneficial for physical and mental health. In the same spirit, a district that benefits from a long-term “green restoration” policy would also have similar virtues, but with an even more impactful effect, since it would promote the life expectancy of its inhabitants. At least that is what research carried out in the United States confirms. Published in the journal Environment International and co-led by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal), the study draws on scientific literature that links exposure to nature to reduced mortality.
The research was carried out based on the work of the American NGO Friends of Trees, which planted 49,246 trees on the streets of Portland, a city in the state of Oregon, between 1990 and 2019. The research team examined the number of trees planted in a specific area (with a population of approximately 4,000 ) in the previous five, ten or fifteen years. She then associated this information with mortality due to cardiovascular, respiratory or non-accidental causes in that same area, using data from the Oregon Health Authority registry.
The results show that in neighborhoods where more trees had been planted, mortality rates (deaths per 100,000 people) were lower. According to their findings, each tree planted was associated with a significant reduction in non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality (20% and 6% respectively), particularly in men, as well as in people over the age of 65. The authors of the work also note that the mortality rate was twice as low if the trees had been planted 11 to 15 years earlier.
An observation that makes sense for researchers, insofar as large trees are better able to counter mortality factors such as air pollution, rising temperatures and noise. “We observed this effect in both green and less green neighborhoods, suggesting that planting trees on streets is beneficial for both,” concludes Geoffrey H. Donovan, co – author of the study.