Frequent visits to green spaces linked to less use of certain drugs

Frequent visits to green spaces such as parks and community gardens are associated with reduced use of certain prescription drugs among city dwellers, according to a new analysis.

In a cross-sectional cohort study, frequent visits to green spaces were associated with less frequent use of psychotropics, antihypertensives and asthma drugs in urban areas.

Seeing green or so-called ‘blue’ spaces (views of lakes, rivers, or other water views) from home was not associated with reduced drug use.

Dr. Anu Turunen

Growing scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of exposure to nature is likely to increase the availability of high-quality green spaces in urban environments and promote the use of these spaces, lead author Anu W. Turunen, PhD, from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland, says lecoeur.org | Medscape Cardiology.

This could be a way to improve the health and well-being of city dwellers, Turunen added.

The conclusions were published online January 16 to Occupational and environmental medicine.

Exposure to nature, a hot topic

Exposure to natural environments is thought to benefit human health, but the evidence is inconsistent, Turunen said.

“The potential health benefits of exposure to nature are a very current topic in environmental epidemiology. Scientific evidence indicates that residential exposure to greenery and bodies of water could be beneficial, especially for health mental, cardiovascular and respiratory, but the results are partly inconsistent and therefore more detailed information is needed,” she said.

In the current cross-sectional study, investigators interviewed 16,000 residents of three urban areas in Finland – Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa – over a 12-month period from 2015 to 2016, about their exposure to green and blue spaces.

Of this number, 43% responded, or 7321 participants.

In the questionnaire, green areas were defined as forests, parks, fields, grasslands, bogs and rocks, as well as any playgrounds or playgrounds within these areas, and blue areas were defined as the sea, lakes and rivers.

Residents were asked about their use of anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidepressants, antihypertensives, and asthma medications over the past 7 to 52 weeks.

They were also asked if they had green and blue views from any of the windows in their home, and if so, how often did they look out of those windows, selecting “rarely” to “often”.

They were also asked how much time they spent outdoors in green spaces during the months of May and September. If so, did they spend any of that time exercising? Options ranged from never to 5 or more times per week.

In addition, the amounts of residential green and blue space within 1 km of respondents’ homes were assessed from land use and land cover data.

Covariates included health-related behaviors, outdoor air pollution and noise, and socioeconomic status, including household income and education level.

The results showed that the presence of green and blue spaces at home, and the amount of time spent looking at them, was unrelated to the use of prescribed medications.

However, a greater frequency of visits to green spaces was associated with a lower likelihood of using the drugs studied.

For psychotropic medications, the odds ratios (ORs) were 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.

For antihypertensive drugs, the ORs were 0.64 (95% CI, 0.52, 0.78) for 3 to 4 times per week, and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.48, 0 .74) for 5 or more times a week.

For asthma medication, the ORs were 0.74 (95% CI, 0.58, 0.94) for 3-4 times per week and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.59 – 0.99) for 5 or more times per week.

The observed associations were attenuated by body mass index.

“We observed that those who reported visiting green spaces often had slightly lower BMIs than those who visited green spaces less often,” Turunen said. However, no consistent interaction with indicators of socioeconomic status was observed.

“We hope to see new results in different countries and different contexts,” she noted. “Longitudinal studies, in particular, are needed. In epidemiology, a large body of consistent evidence is needed to draw strong conclusions and make recommendations.”

Evidence is mounting on the benefits of nature

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature could benefit human health, especially mental and cardiovascular health, says Jochem Klompmaker, PhD, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.

Klompmaker studied the association between exposure to green spaces and health outcomes related to neurological diseases.

Dr Jochem Klompmaker

In a recently published study in Open JAMA Network, and reported through Medscape Medical NewsKlompmaker and his team found that among a large cohort of approximately 6.7 million paying Medicare beneficiaries in the United States aged 65 or older, living in areas rich in greenery, parks, and pathways airworthy was associated with fewer hospitalizations for certain neurological disorders. , including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s diseaseand related dementias (ADRD).

Commenting on the current study, Klompmaker noted its strengths.

“A particular strength of this study is that it used data on the amount of green and blue space around participants’ residential addresses, data on frequency of visit to green space, and data on green and blue views Most other studies only have data on the amount of green and blue space in general,” he said.

“The strong protective associations of frequency of visits to green spaces make sense to me and indicate the importance of actual exposure to nature,” he added. “Like the results of our study, these findings provide clinicians with more evidence of the importance of being close to nature and encouraging patients to take more walks. If they live near a park, this might be a good place to be more physically active.” and reduce stress levels.

The study was supported by the Academy of Finland and the Ministry of the Environment. Turunen and Klompmaker report no relevant financial relationship.

Occupy Environ Med. Published online January 16, 2023. Full Text

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