A study suggests that being surrounded by nature during childhood is tied to a lowered risk of developing psychiatric disorders. Although living in urban environments is associated with increased risk of developing mental illnesses, there is a lack of longitudinal research on this phenomenon. To explore whether and how natural surroundings during childhood are associated with mental health, Kristine Engemann and colleagues examined the psychological records of 943,027 people who were born in Denmark between 1985 and 2003 and still living in the country by their 10th birthday. The authors compared the records with satellite images from 1985 to 2013 that displayed the amount of vegetation surrounding each person's residence. Compared with children who lived in areas surrounded by the greatest amount of vegetation, children who lived in areas surrounded by the least vegetation had up to 55% increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder. Intellectual disabilities and schizoaffective disorder, however, were not positively associated with lack of access to nature. Approximately 50% of all psychiatric disorders were diagnosed in adulthood. The findings suggest that integrating natural environments into urban areas, especially near schools and other places where children congregate, may improve the mental health of urban residents.
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Article #18-07504: "Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood," by Kristine Engemann et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Kristine Engemann, Aarhus University, DENMARK; tel: +4525368404; email: <engemann@bios.au.dk>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences