ABSTRACT
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought unprecedented socially isolating measures to mitigate the spread of disease, heightening the importance of public outdoor urban greenspace. Here, we investigated the association between tree-rich greenspace and mental health in a large opportunity sample surveyed using a crowdsourcing research website (www.covid19resilience.org) between April 6th and October 12th, 2020 during the pandemic in the United States. Participants living in the U.S. (N = 2,089, 83.1% females, mean age 42 years, age range 18-90 years) were mapped to 1,080 unique ZIP Codes and mean tree canopy density was calculated with a 250m buffer around each ZIP Code grouped by quartile as a proxy for nearby greenspace. Four mental health parameters were assessed: (1) COVID-19-related worries;(2) anxiety symptoms;(3) depression symptoms;and (4) a standardized and weighted composite mental health score of all three parameters. Multivariate regression analyses with multilevel models were used to study the association between nearby greenspace and the four mental health outcomes, controlling for participant demographics and ZIP Code urbanicity. In the entire cohort, increased nearby greenspace showed a significant protective effect for depression (Coef. = -0.27;p = 0.0499), and composite mental health scores (Coef. = -0.19;p = 0.038) when comparing ZIP Codes with the most greenspace to ZIP Codes with the least, with no observed effects on COVID-19 related worries or anxiety individually. Stratifying by age suggested protective trends of greenspace on mental health in older subsets of the population (top age quartile, over 51 years old) experiencing less depression (Coef. = -0.45;p = 0.048) and lower composite mental health scores (Coef. = -0.34;- = 0.032) as a function of nearby greenspace. Additionally, younger subsets of the population (second youngest age quartile, 31-38 years) experienced lower COVID-19 related worries (Coef. = -1.34;p = 0.022) as a function of greenspace. These findings may indicate that tree-rich greenspace plays a protective role on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically in certain age groups, supporting the use of greenspace-related strategies to help mitigate mental health burden during this challenging and isolating time.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The objectives of this presentation are to: 1) review the neuroscience of how greenspace impacts neural development;2) summarize epidemiological evidence studying the impacts of greenspace on mental health, mental health disorders, and behavioral development in adults and children (with special attention on how greenspace has impacted mental health during a global pandemic);and 3) explore greenspace clinical interventions on pediatric mental health and approaches to “nature therapeutics.” Methods: This section will start by reviewing the basic research of how greenspace affects physiological neural development. It will then discuss epidemiologic findings showing the protective nature of greenspace in children, as well as the racial and socioeconomic inequity in greenspace accessibility. Additionally, this section will explore research, conducted by myself and others, on the unique role of greenspace during the COVID-19 pandemic on maintaining mental wellness. We will conclude by briefly discussing the use of “nature therapy” to help address certain pediatric mental health disorders. Results: At the end of this presentation, the audience should be able to recall how greenspace and natural landscapes impact mental health in pediatric populations, as well as generally describe the inequity in greenspace access and the unique role that greenspace has played during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to mental health. Lastly, they should be able to appraise the merits of “nature therapy” as a potential treatment for certain mental health disorders and the importance of mental health professionals actively working to preserve greenspace in the face of climate change. Conclusions: The impact of greenspace on pediatric mental health is an evolving field that should be of significant interest to AACAP members. Participants of this talk will walk away with a better understanding of how nature and greenspace impact neurological processing and childhood development, as well as implications for therapeutics. This topic addresses how green spaces and natural environments can shape pediatric mental well-being and, therefore, complements the other talks in this series discussing how climate change and environmental preservation are fundamentally important concepts for psychiatrists to integrate into their practice. ADOL, EPI, STRESS