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Are cities bad for your mental health?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Glyn Lewis  and
Margaret Booth
Glyn Lewis*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and the London School of Tropical Medicine, London
Margaret Booth
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and the London School of Tropical Medicine, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Glyn Lewis, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
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Synopsis

A study was conducted using data from the Health and Lifestyle Survey, a population based community survey of England, Wales and Scotland in which psychiatric morbidity was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire. An association was found between urban residence and the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity (odds ratio 1·54, 95% CI 1·32–1·80) which persisted after adjustment for various confounding factors (odds ratio 1·34, 95% CI 1·13–1·58). The discussion mentions the need for further study into the psychologically harmful elements of urban life.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , November 1994 , pp. 913 - 915
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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