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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 51 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Associations between green/blue spaces and mental health across 18 countries

Open access
White, Mathew P., Elliott, Lewis R., Grellier, James, Economou, Theo, Bell, Simon, Bratman, Gregory N., Cirach, Marta, Gascon, Mireia, Lima, Maria L., Lõhmus, Mare, Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark, Ojala, Ann, Roiko, Anne, Schultz, P. Wesley, van den Bosch, Matilda, Fleming, Lora E.·2021·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Living near, recreating in, and feeling psychologically connected to, the natural world are all associated with better mental health, but many exposure-related questions remain. Using data from an 18-country survey (n = 16,307) we explored associations between multiple measures of mental health (positive well-being, mental distress, depression/anxiety medication use) and: (a) exposures (residential/recreational visits) to different natural settings (green/inland-blue/coastal-blue spaces); and (b) nature connectedness, across season and country. People who lived in greener/coastal neighbourhoods reported higher positive well-being, but this association largely disappeared when recreational visits were controlled for. Frequency of recreational visits to green, inland-blue, and coastal-blue spaces in the last 4 weeks were all positively associated with positive well-being and negatively associated with mental distress. Associations with green space visits were relatively consistent across seasons and countries but associations with blue space visits showed greater heterogeneity. Nature connectedness was also positively associated with positive well-being and negatively associated with mental distress and was, along with green space visits, associated with a lower likelihood of using medication for depression. By contrast inland-blue space visits were associated with a greater likelihood of using anxiety medication. Results highlight the benefits of multi-exposure, multi-response, multi-country studies in exploring complexity in nature-health associations.

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. World Health Organization. Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates (No. WHO/MSD/MER/2017.2) (World Health Organization, 2017).
  2. World Health Organisation. Urban Greenspace Interventions and Health: A Review of Impacts and Effectiveness (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2017).
  3. Foley, R. et al. (eds) Blue Space, Health and Wellbeing: Hydrophilia Unbounded (Routledge, 2019).
  4. Eurostat. European Health Interview Survey (EHIS Wave 2) Methodological manual (Publications Office of the European Union, 2013).
  5. Schultz, P. W. Assessing the structure of environmental concern: Concern for self, other people, and the biosphere. J. Environ. Psychol. 21, 1–13 (2001). · doi:10.1006/jevp.2001.0203
  6. Elliott, L. R. BlueHealth International Survey Methodology and Technical Report (2020). https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/7AZU2.Accessed 8 April 2021. · doi:10.17605/osf.io/7azu2
  7. Her Majesty’s Government. A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment (Nobel House, 2018).

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Metadata

Authors
White, M. P., Elliott, L. R., Grellier, J., Economou, T., Bell, S., Bratman, G. N., Cirach, M., Gascon, M., Lima, M. L., Lõhmus, M., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Ojala, A., Roiko, A., Schultz, P. W., van den Bosch, M., & Fleming, L. E.
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2021-04-26
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
8903-8903
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3157179534
Cited by
484
References
51
FWCI
24.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
gold
Licence
Funders
  • Horizon 2020 (666773)
  • Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University
  • ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon
  • Natural Resources Institute Finland
  • Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast
  • Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Associations between green/blue spaces and mental health across 18 countries. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41598-021-87675-0
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White, M. P., Elliott, L. R., Grellier, J., Economou, T., Bell, S., Bratman, G. N., Cirach, M., Gascon, M., Lima, M. L., Lõhmus, M., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Ojala, A., Roiko, A., Schultz, P. W., van den Bosch, M., & Fleming, L. E. (2021). Associations between green/blue spaces and mental health across 18 countries. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87675-0

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