Exposure to residential greenness and subsequent risk of common mental disorders among individuals with COVID-19 in South Korea: A nationwide cohort study.

Authors

Dongjin Yeo, Selin Woo, Juyeong Kim, Kyeongeun Kim, André Hajek, Lee Smith, Sooji Lee, Seohyun Hong, Ho Geol Woo, Yerin Hwang, Dong Keon Yon

Published in

PloS one. Volume 21. Issue 10. Pages e0359016. Epub Oct 06, 2026.

Abstract

Residential greenness is considered protective for mental health, but its impact on clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders following COVID-19 remains unclear. This study investigated the association between residential greenness and risk of common mental disorders after COVID-19, and whether this relationship differed by population subgroup.
We conducted a nationwide cohort study of 3,097,179 adults aged ≥19 years with confirmed COVID-19 in South Korea between 2018 and 2023 using the K-COV-N cohort, which integrates administrative and clinical data from the National Health Insurance Service and COVID-19 data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Residential greenness was assessed using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and categorized as low (0.2- < 0.4), moderate (0.4- < 0.6), or high (≥0.6). The primary outcome was first diagnosis of anxiety disorder, depression, insomnia, or bipolar disorder ≥30 days post-infection. Weighted Cox proportional hazards models with inverse probability of treatment weighting were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs).
Compared to low NDVI, moderate NDVI was associated with reduced risk of any common mental disorder (aHR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.98), with the strongest effect for bipolar disorder (0.84; 0.79-0.88). High NDVI showed no overall benefit (1.00; 0.99-1.01) and was associated with increased anxiety risk (1.04; 1.03-1.06), especially in older adults and those with comorbidities. Younger individuals experienced the greatest benefit from moderate greenness.
Moderate residential greenness was linked to lower risk of mental disorders following COVID-19, while high greenness conferred limited benefit and potential risk. Greening strategies should be paired with strengthened health and social infrastructure to reduce disparities.

PMID:
42837343
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Oct 2026.

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