WHAT if the secret to cutting down on medication was to take forest baths, to get out in the garden, or to spend more time in the park next to your home? A recent study conducted by researchers at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare suggests that spending time in green space on a regular basis may reduce the use of certain prescription medications.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers drew on the responses of 16,000 residents of three major Finnish cities (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa), who were at least 25 years old and had participated in a national environmental health survey conducted between 2015 and 2016.
The study authors looked at the number of green spaces (parks, forests, beaches, meadows, etc.) located near the participants' homes, within a radius of one kilometer. They then looked at the city dwellers' use of prescription medication, as well as the weekly frequency with which they visited or exercised outdoors in green spaces.
When all this data was compiled, the researchers found that, compared with less than one weekly visit, visiting green space at least three or four times a week was associated with 33% lower odds of using mental health drugs, especially to treat insomnia or anxiety. The study reports similar findings for drugs used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure (36%) and asthma (26%).
These associations between contact with nature and reduced drug use were particularly strong among people with the lowest incomes, whereas these associations were absent among people reporting the highest annual household income, the study notes.
All of which appears to support the idea that people in more economically insecure situations can be faced with what are known as environmental inequalities. – ETX Daily Up, January 21, 2023
