A new analysis suggests that frequent visits to green spaces, such as parks and community gardens, are associated with reduced use of certain prescription drugs among city dwellers.
In a cross-sectional cohort study, frequent visits to green spaces were associated with psychotropic, antihypertensive, and asthma Medicine in an urban environment.
Viewing green or so-called ‘blue’ spaces (lakes, rivers, or other waterscapes) from home was not associated with reduced drug use.
Dr. Anu Turunen
Growing scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of being in touch with nature is likely to increase the availability of high-quality green spaces in urban settings and promote the utilization of these spaces, said lead author Dr. Anu W. Turunen of the Finnish Institute of Health said.said Welfare, Kuopio, Finland theheart.org| Medscape Cardiology.
Turunen added that this could be one way to improve the health and well-being of city dwellers.
Here are the findings: publish online January 16th Occupational Environmental Medicine.
Contact with natureTimely topics
Although exposure to the natural environment is believed to be beneficial to human health, the evidence is inconsistent, Turunen said.
“The potential health benefits of being in touch with nature is a very timely topic in environmental epidemiology. Scientific evidence suggests that exposure to greenery and water in homes can significantly increase mental, cardiovascular, and respiratory health, among others. It shows that it may be beneficial for vessel health, but the findings are partially contradictory and therefore more detailed information is needed,” she said.
In the current cross-sectional study, the researchers surveyed 16,000 residents in three Finnish urban areas (Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa) over a 12-month period from 2015 to 2016, asking them about their relationship to green and blue spaces. I researched exposure.
Of these, 43% responded and 7321 people participated.
In the questionnaire, green areas were defined as forests, parks, fields, meadows, marshes, rocks, and playgrounds and playgrounds within those areas, and blue areas were defined as oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Residents were asked whether they had used anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidepressants, antihypertensives, or asthma medications within the past 7 to 52 weeks.
They were also asked if they could see green and blue views from their windows. If so, how often did you look out those windows?
They were also asked about their time spent outdoors in green spaces in May and September. If so, did they spend any of that time exercising?The options ranged from none at all to he five or more times a week.
In addition, the amount of residential green and green space within a radius of 1 km from the respondent’s home was assessed from land use and land cover data.
Covariates included health behaviors, outdoor air pollution and noise, and socioeconomic status, including household income and educational attainment.
The results showed that the presence of green and blue spaces in the home, and the amount of time spent looking at them, were not associated with prescribed drug use.
However, more frequent visits to green spaces were associated with lower odds of using the drugs under study.
The odds ratio (OR) for psychotropic drugs was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.55–0.82) for 3–4 times per week and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.63–0.96) for 5 or more times per week. bottom.
For antihypertensive drugs, the OR was 0.64 (95% CI, 0.52 to 0.78) for 3 to 4 times per week and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.48 to 0.74) for ≥5 times per week.
For asthma medications, the OR was 0.74 (95% CI, 0.58 to 0.94) for 3 to 4 times a week and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.99) for 5 or more times a week.
The observed association was dampened by body mass index.
“We found that people who reported visiting green spaces often had slightly lower BMIs than those who visited less green spaces,” Turunen said. No interactions were observed.
“We expect to see new results from different countries and different settings,” she said. We need a lot of consistent evidence to do that.”
More Evidence for Nature’s Benefits
Jochem Klompmaker, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, said exposure to nature can benefit human health, particularly mental and cardiovascular health. Evidence is mounting, he said.
Klompmaker has studied the association between green space exposure and health outcomes related to neurological disorders.
Dr. Jochem Krompmaker
of recently published research of JAMA network open, reported with To Medscape Medical NewsKlompmaker and his team found that among a large cohort of approximately 6.7 million paid Medicare beneficiaries in the United States, aged 65 and older, living in green areas, parks and waterways, had specific neurological found to be associated with fewer hospitalizations due to illness, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s diseaseand associated dementia (ADRD).
Commenting on the current study, Crompmaker noted its strengths.
“A particular strength of this study was that it used data on the amount of green and blue space around participants’ homes, data on frequency of visits to green spaces, and data on green and blue views from home. Most of the studies in are data on the amount of green and blue space in general,” he said.
“It makes sense to me that the frequency of visiting green spaces has a strong conservation relevance and really shows the importance of getting in touch with nature,” he added. “Like the results of our study, these results provide clinicians with more evidence about the importance of getting closer to nature and encouraging patients to take more walks. If you live nearby, it may be a better place to be physically active, reducing your stress levels.”
This research was supported by the Finnish Academy and the Ministry of the Environment. Turunen and Klompmaker have not reported any related financial relationships.
Occupy Environ MedPublished online on January 16, 2023. full text
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