City dwellers tend to live longer if they are in leafy neighborhoods, according to a study that linked green areas to lower rates of premature death.
Trees in cities are already credited with cooling and cleaning the air and absorbing planet-warming gases, now researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health have found they also keep death at bay.
Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of the institute's urban planning, environment and health initiative, said: "More green space is better for health. People actually live longer if there is more green space around."
The research, which pulled data from nine other studies involving more than eight million people in seven countries from China to Canada, was the largest ever conducted on the subject, the authors said.
Researchers used satellite images to quantify how much vegetation, including trees, grass and shrubs, was within 500 meters of people's homes.
Levels of vegetation were ranked on a scale under a system known as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI).
Those involved in the study were followed for several years. Any premature deaths caused by health conditions such as heart or respiratory diseases were factored in.
The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, found that in cities from Barcelona to Perth, a 10 percent increase in greenery led to an average 4 percent reduction in premature mortality, Reuters reported.
While researchers did not look into specific causes, Nieuwenhuijsen said access to vegetation was known to benefit mental health, reduce stress, cut pollution and encourage physical activity.
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