Exposure to nature linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-12-21 03:00

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Higher exposure to some types of nature is associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, according to US research. The team used data from the US national health insurance program to look at hospitalisations in two groups of 60 million people related to Alzheimer's/dementia and Parkinson's. They then compared these with data on the amount of greenery, park space and 'blue space' such as lakes, rivers and ponds, where the participants lived. They say all three types of nature exposure were associated with a decreased risk of Parkinson's hospitalisations, and more green space was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, USA

Funder: This study was supported by grants R01ES028033, R01ES024332, R01ES026217, 1R01ES030616, 1R01ES029950, R01ES034373, and P30ES000002 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; 5R01AG060232-03, 1RF1AG071024, 1RF1AG074372-01A1, R01AG066793-01, and R00AG066949 from the National Institute on Aging; R01HL150119 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and R01MD012769 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

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