It appears that the soothing sounds of waves and the smell of salt in the air might do more for San Franciscans than offer a pleasant day at the beach. According to a study from The Ohio State University, living within a three-penny toss of the ocean might be linked to a longer life. But before you start to pack up and move closer to the Pacific, take note—the same can't be said if you're banking on a riverside abode to extend your sunset years.
The research, published in the journal Environmental Research via Ohio State News, sifted through population data from over 66,000 census tracts throughout the U.S. The team, led by Jianyong “Jamie” Wu, found a correlation suggesting that residents living near coastal waters were likely to outlive their inland cousins by a year or more, compared to the country's average life expectancy of 79 years. “The coastal residents probably live longer due to a variety of intertwined factors,” Wu told Ohio State News.
Conversely, living near inland bodies of water in urban areas—think larger than 4 square miles—may not boast the same benefits. The study pointed to factors like pollution, poverty, and a lack of safe opportunities for physical activity as potential culprits behind this life expectancy gap. Yanni Cao, a postdoctoral researcher who worked on the study, suggested that "pollution, poverty, lack of safe opportunities to be physically active and an increased risk of flooding are likely drivers of these differences." According to Ohio State News.
One critical difference the researchers found is that coastal areas tend to experience fewer hot days and lower maximum temperatures compared to inland water areas. This could, they surmise, play a significant role in the longevity of coastal dwellers. As previous research has suggested, benefits such as higher physical activity levels, lower obesity rates, and improved heart health have been linked to living near water. However, the revelations of this study are more nuanced, indicating that not all "blue spaces" are created equal. “We were surprised to find such a significant and clear difference between those who live near coastal waters and those who live near inland waters,” Wu stated in the Ohio State News article.
Moreover, Cao expressed curiosity regarding how these insights into geographical living conditions and life expectancy trends could shine a light on the broader, more complex social determinants of health in the U.S., particularly against the backdrop of its decline in life expectancy compared to other wealthy nations. It seems that the space between the blue of the sea and the landlocked lakes may be just as much a social divide as a geographic one. This study, a first in systematically examining such relationships, has now carved out a new aspect of the American health landscape to consider. The full study findings can be read in the journal Environmental Research via Ohio State News.
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