Higher residential greenspace links to lower dementia risk
Higher greenspace within 100 meters was linked to lower dementia incidence, with a hazard ratio of 0.79 overall and 0.69 in women compared to 0.93 in men.
Alzheimer's & Dementia
Researchers tracked 2,993 dementia-free adults aged 60 and older in Stockholm, Sweden, for 16 years in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen. Over the study period, 477 participants received a clinical diagnosis of dementia. The authors measured residential greenspace foliage using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data within 100-, 250-, and 500-meter buffers around homes. Models adjusted for air pollution, road traffic noise, blue space, socioeconomic factors, and APOE-ε4 status. Each interquartile-range increase in greenspace within a 100-meter buffer was associated with a lower dementia hazard (hazard ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.64–0.96). Associations attenuated for larger 250-meter and 500-meter buffers. The protective link was stronger in women than in men, and was more pronounced in APOE-ε4 non-carriers.
Why it matters
The findings indicate that immediate residential green surroundings may influence late-life brain health and neurodegenerative risk independently of common urban stressors like traffic noise and fine particulate matter.
Caveats
The observational design cannot prove causality. Furthermore, air pollution assessments were limited to pre-baseline measurements, and the findings from an urban Swedish cohort may not generalize to different geographic or socioeconomic settings.
The paper
Stockholm University · Karolinska Institutet
Alzheimer's & Dementia · 29 Sep 2026 · CC BY