Living in a city located on a river or near a lake could take at least a year off your life, a recent study concluded.

Researchers at The Ohio State University examined population data, including life expectancy, from over 66,000 census areas across the United States to assess health in relation to the proximity of waterways.

The average life expectancy in the US is 78.4 years, and it’s fallen recently.

The study revealed that individuals residing in urban areas close to rivers or lakes larger than four square miles typically have a life expectancy of about 78 years. In contrast, those living near ocean or gulf coastlines tend to live a year or more longer.

The scientists found that people who live within about 30 miles of an ocean or gulf were more likely to live into their 80s.

The findings indicated that coastal residents generally benefit from milder weather, improved air quality, more recreational opportunities, better transportation, and are less prone to drought. Higher income levels may also enhance the quality of life for those on the coast compared to those living inland.

Conversely, in cities located by rivers, researchers noted increased pollution, higher poverty levels, fewer safe physical activity options, and a greater risk of flooding.

River cities typically face substantially more water and air pollution than those not adjacent to rivers, mainly due to a higher accumulation of pollutants from urban runoff, misconnected drainage systems, sewage overflows, and industrial activities.

Residing in a river-based city could reduce life expectancy by at least a year, according to recent research. Pictured, the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky (shown above)

The Environmental Protection Agency warns that polluted urban waters can create ‘public and environmental health hazards like lowered drinking water quality and water bodies that aren’t safe to swim in.’

This spring, a concerning air quality mystery broke out in Chicago, where Lake Michigan sits, as the river city was reportedly blanketed with toxic chemicals.

Air quality maps revealed an enormous cloud of hazardous air sitting over the entire Chicago metropolitan area, with readings reaching 500 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) – the worst possible score on Google Maps.

Chicago is situated on the southwestern tip of this Great Lake, and the Chicago River (which has its source in the lake) flows through the city to the Mississippi River system via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and other waterways in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). 

An AQI of 500 denotes extremely hazardous air quality, where pollutant levels are at or beyond the upper limits of what monitoring systems typically measure, which typically only happens during massive wildfires or volcanic eruptions.

Chicago has been found to have some of the worst air quality in the US. 

The river city specifically ranked poorly in particle pollution, which refers to tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the air that people can breathe in.

Jianyong ‘Jamie’ Wu, the lead researcher on The Ohio State University study, said she originally thought living next to any kind of body of water would bring health benefits, but she was surprised by what the team found.

She explained: ‘We thought it was possible that any type of “blue space” would offer some beneficial effects, and 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.’ 

Yu and her fellow researchers say their findings could help shape urban planning in the future in a bid to boost life expectancy across the US. 

They concluded: ‘Specifically, by integrating blue spaces [such as rivers] into the built environment through preserving natural water bodies, improving public access to waterfronts, and implementing blue-green infrastructure, planners can promote health and longevity.’

Many cities in the USA are built along rivers, benefiting from water access for transportation, resources, and economic activity.

Examples include Cincinnati (Ohio River), Memphis (Mississippi River), Detroit (Detroit River), Chicago (Chicago River), and Richmond, Virginia, which is known as ‘The River City’ due to the fall line of the James River. 

All these cities have life expectancies and disease rates that are considered unfavorable compared to national averages, with Memphis and Detroit particularly affected. 

As with the recent study, published online in the journal Environmental Research, past research has also found living by an ocean or gulf to be beneficial for our health.

Researchers from The Ohio State University analyzed population data – including life expectancy – in more than 66,000 census tracts throughout the US and compared it based on proximity to waterways

A comparison of life expectancy in census regions taking into account their proximity to coastal waters and inland water bodies. The error bars represent the standard deviation. Yes indicates near that type of body of water and no indicates not near that type of body of water

Researchers from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health analyzed data from a 2001 UK census and compared how healthy respondents said they were with how close they lived to the sea.

They also took into account the way that age, sex, and a range of social and economic factors, like education and income, vary across the country.

The results show that, on average, populations living by the sea report rates of good health more than similar populations living inland.

Previous research from the same academics had shown that the coastal environment also provided significant benefits in terms of stress reduction.

Researchers said one reason those living in coastal communities may attain better physical health could be due to the stress relief offered by spending time near the sea.