People with multimorbidity have two or more long-term health conditions at the same time. These can either be physical conditions, mental conditions or a combination of both. Multimorbidity is an important topic to study because it has a negative impact on individuals’ lives, healthcare systems and the economy. Those who have multimorbidity are more likely to have poorer quality of life and become disabled. They also tend to take multiple long-term medications to manage their conditions, which have unpleasant side effects. Multimorbid individuals also require complex healthcare management plans and in general tend to use health services more. This puts financial strain on government bodies. However, the natural environment in which people live, work or socialise can have an impact on their health. For example, having greenery (known as green space) or water bodies (known as blue space) in a neighbourhood could improve people’s mental and physical health. This happens in several ways, including more socialisation, increased physical activity and reduction in city air pollution and noise. While, there is research into the ways these natural environments impact a single mental or physical health condition, such as having either depression or diabetes, little research has been done on the impact of having two or more co-existing conditions on a person. This project aims to examine the relationship between different green and blue spaces and multimorbidity in adults. This will involve linking data on the local environment to UK Biobank participants’ residential address. Such an approach will allow us to measure different types of green and blue spaces, such as parks, street trees, lakes or canals. Being able to identify how accessible and available these types of spaces are in the surrounding neighbourhood will further increase our understanding of the ways they might impact multimorbidity differently.
In order to better understand how common multimorbidity is in the population, a range of statistical techniques will be employed. The relationship between different green and blue spaces and the probability of having multimorbidity will then be examined. This research is conducted as part of a PhD project and is expected to take 24 months. It will generate new knowledge and expand the field of environmental health.