Green Is A Shade of Good Health: Study

New study suggests that women who live in areas surrounded by vegetation and greenery have lower risk of death.

For the purpose of the study, researchers studied more than 108,000 women across the country between 2000 and 2008.

After research, the study revealed that women who lived in green neighborhoods had 12% reduced risk of death as compared to those lived in less green areas. The study also discovered that living in the area with most vegetation near their homes also lowered the cases of death caused due to respiratory diseases by 34%. In fact, it also said that the women who lived in areas with lush greenery had 13% lower rate of cancer death than those with least vegetation, the study found.

Even though the study showed link between living in green areas and living longer, it was designed to validate cause-and-effect relationship.

"We were surprised to observe such strong associations between increased exposure to greenness and lower [death] rates," said study author Peter James, a research associate at Harvard T.S. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston.

"We were even more surprised to find evidence that a large proportion of the benefit from high levels of vegetation seems to be connected with improved mental health," he said in a school news release.

The study researchers also pointed out mental health benefits and observed reduced levels of depression amongst women who lived in green spaces. Other noted benefits of living in green areas include more opportunities for socializing, increased physical activity and reduced exposure to pollution, which by the way, is also incredibly healthy, said the study authors.

The study was published online April 14 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.