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Background: Previous studies have linked cycling with improved mental wellbeing but these studies tend to use cross-sectional survey data that have small sample sizes and self-reported health measures, and are potentially susceptible to omitted-variable bias and reverse causation. We use an instrumental variable approach and an objective measure of mental ill-health taken from linked administrative data to ask: 'Does cycle commuting reduce the risk of mental ill-health?', Methods: Our study links data on commuting in Edinburgh and Glasgow from the Scottish population census with mental health prescriptions from the National Health Service Prescribing Information System records. We use road distance from home to nearest cycle path as an instrumental variable for cycle commuting., Results: In total, 378 253 people aged 16-74 years living and working in the City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City council areas at the 2011 census were included in our study; 1.85% of commuters in Glasgow and 4.8% of commuters in Edinburgh cycled to work. Amongst cyclists, 9% had a prescription for mental health compared with 14% amongst non-cyclists. Using a bivariate probit model, we estimate a mean average reduction in prescriptions for antidepressants and/or anxiolytics in the 5 years following the census of -15.1% (95% CI: -15.3% to -15.0%) amongst cycle commuters compared with those who use any other mode to commute., Conclusions: This work suggests that cycle commuting is causally related to reduced mental ill-health and provides further evidence in support of the promotion of active travel to encourage commuters travelling shorter distances to shift to cycle commutes., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.)

Residential greenspace quality may be more important for people's mental health than the quantity of greenspace. Existing literature mainly focuses on greenspace quantity and is limited to exposure metrics based on an over-head perspective (i.e., remote sensing data). Thus, whether greenspace quantity and quality influence mental health through different mechanisms remains unclear. To compare the mechanisms through which greenspace quantity and quality influence mental health, we used both remote sensing and street view data. Questionnaire data from 1003 participants in Guangzhou, China were analysed cross-sectionally. Mental health was assessed through the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Greenspace quantity was measured by both remote sensing-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Street View Greenness-quantity (SVG-quantity). Greenspace quality was measured by both Street View Greenness-quality (SVG-quality) and questionnaire-based self-reported greenspace quality. Structural equation models were used to assess mechanisms through which neighbourhood greenspace exposure has an influence on mental health. Stress, social cohesion, physical activity and life satisfaction were found to mediate both SVG-quality - WHO-5 scores and self-reported greenspace quality - WHO-5 scores associations. However, only NO 2 (nitrogen dioxide) mediated the association between NDVI and WHO-5 scores, while NO 2 , perceived pollution and social cohesion mediated the association between SVG-quantity and WHO-5 scores. The mechanisms through which neighbourhood greenspace exposure influences mental health may vary across different exposure assessment strategies. Greenspace quantity influences mental health through reducing harm from pollution, while greenspace quality influences mental health through restoring and building capacities., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Investments to promote public transport utilisation are being championed to achieve sustainable development, but the potential co-benefits for mental health are comparatively under-researched. We hypothesised that frequent users of public transport would be more likely to have better mental health (possibly due to increased levels of physical activity), but among the more frequent users, less favourable perceptions of public transport infrastructure (PPTI) could have a negative influence on mental health., Methods: Multilevel linear and logistic regressions were fitted on 30,214 participants in the UK Household Longitudinal Study with lagged PPTI and confounder measures at baseline and indicators of active travel and mental health (General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), SF-12 Mental Component Scale (MCS) and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (WEMWBS)) at follow-up., Results: Compared to participants expressing poor PPTI, those who felt it was excellent were 1.29 (95%CI 1.15, 1.45) times more likely to be frequent users of public transport and 1.53 (95%CI 1.33, 1.76) times more likely to choose to walk or cycle journeys of less than two to three miles. Frequent use of public transport was found to be consistently associated with better mental health for GHQ caseness (OR 0.85, 95%CI 0.79, 0.91), GHQ score (coefficient -0.28, 95%CI -0.41, -0.16), MCS (coefficient 0.45, 95%CI 0.23, 0.66), and WEMWBS (coefficient 0.30, 95%CI 0.19, 0.40). Among frequent users of public transport, participants expressing poor PPTI were 1.46 (95%CI 1.11, 1.93) times more likely to report poorer mental health according to the GHQ caseness indicator, compared to frequent users that regarded PPTI as excellent. Similar results were observed for the other indicators of mental health., Conclusions: These findings indicate that while the provision of public transport infrastructure is a necessary pre-condition for stimulating population increases in physical activity, PPTI improvements needs to be prioritised to leverage the full mental health-related co-benefits of active travel.

There is tentative evidence suggesting that socioeconomically disadvantaged groups may benefit more from access to neighbourhood greenspace and therefore could be a lever for narrowing socioeconomic inequalities ('equigenesis') in mental health, although studies are equivocal. One potential explanation for this inconsistency is differences in study designs, particularly how greenspace is measured. Most previous studies are from high income countries, and there has been no investigations into equigenic environments in China. Using survey data collected from 26 neighbourhoods in Guangzhou, China, this study examines whether local greenspaces may narrow socioeconomic inequalities in health (i.e. equigenesis) in the Chinese context. The study is the first to explore the contribution of greenspace in reducing socioeconomic inequalities in mental health in the Chinese context. It uses Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Street View Greenness (SVG) and self-reported neighbourhood greenness quality as estimates of residential greenness exposure Results show that SVG-quantity, SVG-quality and self-reported greenspace quality narrow the neighbourhood socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. Our findings demonstrate the importance of improving equity in local green infrastructure for promoting health equity through urban planning and design, including improving access to green spaces, and providing more street trees in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods. • Street view images and machine learning were used to measure Street View Greenness (SVG). • SVG and self-reported greenspace quality narrow the neighbourhood socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. • SVG and self-reported greenspace quality narrow the individual socioeconomic inequalities in mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines whether long journeys to work are negatively associated with commuters’ mental health. Fixed-effects models were applied to the panel data on 5,216 participants in the British Household Panel Survey who were working at the time of interview and aged between 16 and 64 years. Mental health status was established using the General Health Questionnaire. Long journeys to work are associated with a higher risk of poor mental health for women but not for men, controlling for a number of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Previous studies have asserted that long journeys to work are a stressful event, which affects men and women as an acute stressor. Our results from the 16-year panel data found that the long-term effect applies only for women. The fact that women with children are most likely to suffer from long commuting suggests that such daily travel behavior is particularly difficult for women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• This study assesses greenspace-mental health associations in various exposure contexts. • All measures of greenspace exposure in residential places are associated with mental health. • Only street view-based greenspace quality in recreational places is positively associated with mental health. • Both street view-based greenspace quantity and quality in participant's mobility path are associated with mental health. Natural environments especially greenspace may play an important role in enhancing people's mental health. However, the existing literature mainly assesses greenspace exposure in people's residential neighbourhood ignoring the dynamic nature of daily movements and residential histories. Also, most research assesses greenspace from an 'over-head' perspective whereas an 'eye-level' perspective may better capture people's experiences of greenspace, including its quality. We examine the importance of capturing people's eye-level greenspace exposure across different places people occupy in their everyday lives. We construct four measures of greenspace capturing overhead (NDVI), eye-level quantity and quality (Street View Greenness (SVG)) and self-reported neighbourhood greenness exposure. First, we assessed greenspace exposure in residential neighbourhoods, workplaces, recreational places, mobility path and previous residential neighbourhood. The four greenspace indicators were not associated with each other, suggesting they capture different aspects of greenspace. Second, we examine the associations between dynamic greenspace exposure and residents' mental health using survey data collected from 26 neighbourhoods of Guangzhou, China. The results show that all measures in residential places are associated with mental health. However, only SVG-quality in recreational places is positively associated with mental health, while both SVG-quantity and SVG-quality in participant's mobility path are associated with mental health. Our findings demonstrate eye-level greenspace quality is more important in relation to mental health. Policymakers and planners should focus not only on residential neighbourhoods, but also consider the wider environments that people encounter in their everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]