Greenspace could be great for mental health in early childhood

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-11 01:00

International

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Living near greenspaces could help reduce the risk of early anxiety and depression in early childhood, according to international researchers. The team looked at data from 2,103 kids across the US and found that living near more greenspaces was associated with fewer internalising symptoms in early childhood (age 2-5), such as anxiety and depressive symptoms. They also found an association between more greenspaces and fewer externalising symptoms, such as rule-breaking and aggressive behaviour, although this association was weakened after accounting for socioeconomic factors. The team did not find the same associations in middle childhood (age 6-11), suggesting early childhood may be a particularly sensitive period for greenspace exposure.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Funder: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of the Director, NIH under awards U2COD023375 (Coordinating Center), U24OD023382 (Data Analysis Center), U24OD023319 with cofunding from the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (PRO Core), UH3OD023332 (Drs Gatzke-Kopp and Swingler), UG/UH3OD023248, UG/UH3OD023313 (Drs Koinis-Mitchell and Deoni), UG/UH3OD023365, UH3OD023271 (Dr Karr), UG/UH3OD023285 (Dr Kerver), UH3OD023389 (Dr Leve), UH3OD023286 (Dr Oken), UH3OD023305, UG3/UH3OD023337 (Drs R. J.Wright and R. O.Wright), P30ES023515 (Dr R. J.Wright), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) P30ES023515 (Dr Arora), and NIEHS T32ES015459 (Dr Sheppard). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Willoughby reported receiving grants from RTI International during the conduct of the study. Dr Bennett reported receiving grants from the Environmental Protection Agency during the conduct of the study outside of the submittedwork. Dr Carnell reported receiving grants from Eli Lilly outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

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