Harvard researchers examined data collected from 62 million Medicare beneficiaries and found that individuals who lived in zip codes with more greenery were hospitalized less for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and Parkinson’s disease than their peers who lived in more densely populated urban areas.
Researchers measured both “green space” and “blue space (areas close to bodies of water). Parks and being near a lake, stream, river, or ocean were associated with a lower rate of hospitalization for Parkinson’s, but not for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
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