Urban Nature and Public Health: How Nature Exposure and Sociocultural Background Relate to Depression Risk.

Kristen Jakstis,Leonie K. Fischer

doi:10.3390/ijerph18189689

Kristen Jakstis, Leonie K. Fischer

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189689

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Abstract

As the world’s population becomes more urbanized, there is an associated decrease in nature exposure and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, including depression. Previous cross-sectional studies examining urban nature exposure and depression have reported favorable associations. However, many of these studies rely primarily on nature exposure metrics that measure the intensity of nature exposure, while other dimensions of urban nature exposure remain understudied. Therefore, in a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based case study targeting a general urban population (n = 282), we examined the relationship between two less commonly studied urban nature exposure variables (i.e., gardening behavior and greenspace visit frequency) and depression risk while also considering sociocultural background (multivariate logistic regression model). Results indicated that being a gardener was significantly associated with a reduced odds of being at risk of depression and that having a family migration history, but not a self-migration history, was associated with increased odds of being at risk of depression. In the examination of neighborhood socialization frequency and depression risk, we did not determine any significant association. The results of this study, therefore, highlight the importance of considering both people’s sociocultural backgrounds and urban nature exposure in more detail to help plan for and support healthier cities in the future.

Highlights

Exposure to the natural environment has long been associated with a variety of positive physiological and psychological health outcomes
Bivariate associations according to Chi-squared analyses are denoted with (*) in the individual heading of each plot. In this cross-sectional study targeting a general urban population, we found that being a In gardener was significantly associated with a decreased odds of we being at risk dethis cross-sectional study targeting a general urban population, found thatof being pression, neither greenspace visits nor neighborhood frequency was a gardenerwhile was significantly associated with a decreased odds socialization of being at risk of depression, significantly associated with depression risk
We considered understudied aspects of urban nature exposure characteristics and amount to better understand more while neither greenspace visits nor neighborhood socialization frequency was significantly associated with depression risk

Summary

Introduction

Exposure to the natural environment has long been associated with a variety of positive physiological and psychological health outcomes. These include, among others, improved mental health [1,2], stress reduction and recovery [3,4,5], reduced prevalence of obesity [6,7] and even lower all-cause mortality [8,9]. The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, including mental health disorders, is increasing with urbanization [13,14]. The most prevalent of these mental health challenges in Europe is depression, with an estimated 44.3 million sufferers [15]. Depression has been associated with comorbidities, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer [16]

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