Background: Previous studies revealed a relationship between residential green space availability and health, especially mental health. Studies on blue space are scarcer and results less conclusive.
Aims: To investigate the hypotheses that green and blue space availability are negatively associated with anxiety and mood disorders, and positively associated with self-reported mental and general health.
Method: Health data were derived from a nationally representative survey (NEMESIS-2, n=6621), using a diagnostic interview to assess disorders. Green and blue space availability were expressed as percentages of the area within 1 km from one's home.
Results: The hypotheses were confirmed, except for green space and mood disorders. Associations were generally stronger for blue space than for green space, with ORs up to 0.74 for a 10%-point increase.
Conclusions: Despite the different survey design and health measures, the results largely replicate those of previous studies on green space. Blue space availability deserves more systematic attention.
Declaration of interest: None.
Copyright and usage: © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license.