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Low childhood nature exposure is associated with worse mental health in adulthood
Preuß, Myriam Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J. Marquez, Sandra Cirach, Marta Dadvand, Payam Triguero-Mas, Margarita Gidlow, Christopher Grazuleviciene, Regina Kruize, Hanneke Zijlema, Wilma
Preuß, Myriam
Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.
Marquez, Sandra
Cirach, Marta
Dadvand, Payam
Triguero-Mas, Margarita
Gidlow, Christopher
Grazuleviciene, Regina
Kruize, Hanneke
Zijlema, Wilma
Abstract
Exposure to natural outdoor environments (NOE) is associated with health benefits; however, evidence on the impact of NOE exposure during childhood on mental health (MH) and vitality in adulthood is scarce. This study was based on questionnaire data collected from 3585 participants, aged 18–75, in the PHENOTYPE project (2013) in four European cities. Mixed models were used to investigate associations between childhood NOE exposure and (i) MH; (ii) vitality (perceived level of energy and fatigue); and (iii) potential mediation by perceived amount, use, satisfaction, importance of NOE, and residential surrounding greenness, using pooled and city-level data. Adults with low levels of childhood NOE exposure had, when compared to adults with high levels of childhood NOE exposure, significantly worse mental health (coef. −4.13; 95% CI −5.52, −2.74). Childhood NOE exposure was not associated with vitality. Low levels of childhood NOE exposure were associated with lower importance of NOE (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.66, 0.98) in adulthood. The association with perceived amount of NOE differed between cities. We found no evidence for mediation. Childhood NOE exposure might be associated with mental well-being in adulthood. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to identify mechanisms underlying long-term benefits of childhood NOE exposure.
Keywords
childhood nature exposure, natural outdoor environments, nature perception, mental health, vitality, greenness, green space
Date
2019
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Book
Volume
16
Issue
10
Page Range
1-18
Article Number
ACU Department
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open