Frequent visits to green spaces in the city, such as parks and community gardens, may be linked to a lower need for medications for depression, anxiety, insomnia, hypertension, and asthma.
Research conducted in Finland suggests that frequently visit the city's green spaces as parks and community gardens may be linked to a lower need for medication for depression, the anxiety, the insomnia, hypertension, and asthma. The results have been shown to be independent of income and education levels.
The researchers wanted to know whether specific clusters of green and blue spaces (bodies of water) could be separately associated with the use of certain medications. These clusters included the number of residential green and blue spaces, the frequency with which green spaces were visited, and whether green and blue spaces could be seen from the residence itself.
The medications that were selected were those that are prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, hypertension and asthma , as they serve to treat health problems that, although common, can be serious.
The study has been published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine and is of type Observational . Participants were randomly selected from the Helsinki Capital Region Environmental Health Survey in 2015–2016. They resided in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa.
The scientists carried out a survey In this study, participants were asked how often they spent time or exercised in green spaces between May and September, and whether they could see green and blue spaces from their homes. They were also asked about their use of the aforementioned medications, including whether they had taken them in the last week, more than a year ago, or never.
The study considered factors that could influence the results, such as health habits, outdoor air and noise pollution, family income, and educational level.
Finally the following were used: data from about 6,000 participants who were the ones who provided all the required information.
Regarding the consideration of green zones and blue zones, green zones were defined as forests, gardens, parks, castle grounds, cemeteries, zoos, and herbaceous vegetation such as natural grasslands, moors, and wetlands. Seas, lakes, and rivers were considered blue zones.
What the scientists concluded was that neither the amount of residential green and blue space nor the views from the home were associated with increased or decreased use of prescription drugs for mental health, asthma, high blood pressure, or insomnia. However, there did appear to be an association with frequency of visits to green spaces .
Compared with less than weekly visits, visits 3-4 times per week were associated with a 33% lower odds of taking mental health medications, a 36% lower odds of taking blood pressure medications, and a 26% lower odds of taking asthma medications.
The equivalent figures for visits of at least 5 times a week were, respectively, 22%, 41%, and 24% lower.
The associations weakened when body mass index (BMI) was taken into account. This was especially true for asthma medications, as the obesity is a risk factor for this pathology.
The researchers also observed that participants who reported lower household incomes (less than €30,000 per year) experienced greater positive effects from visiting green spaces. However, the associations found were not generally dependent on household income or educational level.
As we have mentioned, this is an observational study, so cause and effect cannot be established.
"Growing scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of nature exposure is likely to increase the supply of high-quality green spaces in urban environments and promote their active use. This could be one way to improve health and well-being in cities," the researchers write.
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