Quitting city life for the suburbs could make you depressed, new study claims
Giving up city life for the suburbs can make you depressed, a new study claims
- Suburban cities offer more opportunities for social interactions, the study claims
For those who are tired of the hectic city centers, moving to the suburbs for a quieter life and a bigger house seems like an ideal solution.
But once there, luck may not always be on the cards, according to a study.
Those who live in sprawling suburbs are at a higher risk of depression because there are fewer people around, reducing the opportunity for socializing and a sense of community, which promotes well-being.
Researcher Dr Karen Chen, from Yale University, USA, said: ‘People are spending more time in their cars doing things and not necessarily in local shops, restaurants and cafes, as they do in cities.’
Those who have moved to suburban areas may be risking their mental health by moving
Academics from Yale and Aarhus University in Denmark used satellite imagery and AI to map all built-up areas in the Scandinavian country over a 30-year period.
They analyzed the location of about 75,000 residents diagnosed with depression during that time period, along with more than 750,000 people of the same age without the condition.
The conclusion was that someone living in a suburban area is estimated to be 10 to 15 percent more likely to suffer from depression than an inner-city resident.
The study also found that a combination of high-rise and low-density housing was associated with the lowest risk of depression for urban dwellers.
It added that those living in buildings over 10 meters high with flats were generally no more depressed than those in lower buildings. Part of the reason may be the greater number of social interactions possible.
The study in the journal Science Advances is likely to be widely adopted in the UK as well.