*This study should expand our understanding of mental health. We’re used to looking at individual and family links to mental health, but neighborhoods and other “macro-systems” contribute to an older person’s overall well being as well. VL
By Medical Press
Older Latinos living in the U.S. who perceive their neighborhoods as safer and more walkable are less likely to develop severe depressive symptoms, and the effect may be long term, a new study suggests.
Researchers examined links between the onset of depressive symptoms in 570 older Latino adults and various characteristics of the Greater Los Angeles neighborhoods they lived in, including crime, the availability and quality of sidewalks, traffic safety and aesthetics.
Participants ranged in age from 60 to 90, and 351 of them screened positive for low levels of depression at the outset of the study. When participants were rescreened 12 and 24 months later, a total of 19 (5.4 percent) of those with depression showed elevated symptoms.
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