Classic case of science “journalism” mixing up correlation and causation. The study only controlled for income in the broadest possible strokes, so I’m all likely, this is likely just one more study confirming that rich people live longer.
It’s possible that the green space lowers cortisol levels, thereby lessening the negative effective of aging, which would also account for the differences in Black vs. white participants (as Black people in America almost uniformly have higher cortisol levels simply because of the higher stress levels experienced by minorities in the US). More study (and rigor) is required to say for certain.
However, this headline is simply not supported by the study.
But this study doesn’t
So it’s like the study that showed that having a horse increase your life expectancy by several years ?
Exactly.
It looks like they adjusted for the common cofactors. There could be more they missed, but this study is also backed by a large body of research that found similar effects. You can see some of these other papers in the references.
Probably the effect is driven by several factors including mental well-being, increased social cohesion, reduced air pollution, increased opportunity for exercise, and other things. Frankly, it would be surprising if these things did not have an effect on lifespan.
Surely they mean: not living near Green spaces will decrease it by 2.5 years
I like green spaces and all but you can miss me with that extended life stuff.
Well unlike a lot of modern medical interventions, this likely works by improving your level of health–the life extension is more of a side-effect of being healthier. I think that’s a good thing. There is a lot of pain and suffering associated with early death in most cases.
