In a study from Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, scientists found frequent visits to urban green spaces may be linked to lower use of certain prescription meds.
They found links between frequent green space visits and lower use of drugs for depression, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and asthma.
Exposure to natural environments is thought to be good for health, but the evidence is inconsistent.
In the study, the team aimed to see if the amount of residential green and blue space (bodies of water), frequency of green space visits, and views of green and blue spaces from home might be separately associated with the use of certain prescription meds.
They chose prescription meds as a proxy for ill health, and those for anxiety and insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, in particular, because they are used to treat common and potentially serious health issues.
They used data from 6,000 residents of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa, for the Helsinki Capital Region Environmental Health Survey in 2015-16.
The survey gathered information on how city dwellers, aged at least 25, experience residential green and blue spaces within a 1 km radius of their homes.
Green areas were defined as forests, gardens, parks, castle parks, cemeteries, zoos, herbaceous vegetation associations such as natural grassland and moors, and wetlands. Blue areas were defined as seas, lakes, and rivers.
Respondents were also asked to report their use of prescribed meds, if applicable, for periods ranging from within the past week up to more than a year ago or never.
The team found that the amount of residential green and blue spaces, or views of them from home, weren’t linked to the use of prescription meds for mental health, insomnia, high blood pressure, or asthma.
But the frequency of green space visits was. Compared with less than one weekly visit, visiting 3-4 times weekly was associated with 33% lower odds of using mental health meds, 36% lower odds of using blood pressure meds, and 26% lower odds of using asthma meds.
The equivalent figures for visiting at least 5 times a week were, respectively, 22%, 41%, and 24% lower.
These associations were weakened when weight (BMI) was factored in, particularly for asthma meds, as obesity is a known risk factor for asthma.
Overall, the associations didn’t depend on household income and educational attainment.
The team says the health benefits of nature exposure are likely to increase the supply of high-quality green spaces in urban environments and promote their active use.
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The study was conducted by Anu Turunen et al and published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
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