TY - JOUR
T1 - Residential green space and mental health-related prescription medication sales
T2 - An ecological study in Belgium
AU - Aerts, Raf
AU - Vanlessen, Naomi
AU - Dujardin, Sebastien
AU - Nemery, Benoit
AU - Van Nieuwenhuyse, An
AU - Bauwelinck, Mariska
AU - Casas, Lidia
AU - Demoury, Claire
AU - Plusquin, Michelle
AU - Nawrot, Tim S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research has received funding from the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) through the Belgian Research Action through Interdisciplinary Networks (BRAIN-be) project GRESP-HEALTH under grant agreement numbers BR/143/A3/GRESP-HEALTH . MB is recipient of a doctoral fellowship (grant number 11A9718N ) of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Background: Residential green space has been associated with mental health benefits, but how such associations vary with green space types is insufficiently known. Objective: We aimed to investigate associations between types and quantities of green space and sales of mood disorder medication in Belgium. Methods: We used aggregated sales data of psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics prescribed to adults from 2006 to 2014. Generalized mixed effects models were used to investigate associations between relative covers of woodland, low-green, grassland, and garden, and average annual medication sales. Models were adjusted for socio-economic background variables, urban-rural differences, and administrative region, and included random effects of latitude and longitude. Results: Urban census tracts were associated with 9–10% higher medication sales. In nationwide models, a 10% increase in relative cover of woodland, garden, and grass was associated with a 1–2% decrease in medication sales. The same association was found for low green but only for men. In stratified models, a 10% increase in relative cover of any green space type in urban census tracts was associated with a decrease of medication sales by 1–3%. In rural census tracts, no protective associations between green space and mood disorder medication sales were observed, with the exception of relative woodland cover for women (−1%), and low green was associated with higher medication sales (+6–7%). Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that living in green environments may be beneficial for adult mental health. Woodland exposure seemed the most beneficial, but the amount of green space was more important than the type. Results underline the importance of conserving green space in our living environment, for the conservation of biodiversity and for human health.
AB - Background: Residential green space has been associated with mental health benefits, but how such associations vary with green space types is insufficiently known. Objective: We aimed to investigate associations between types and quantities of green space and sales of mood disorder medication in Belgium. Methods: We used aggregated sales data of psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics prescribed to adults from 2006 to 2014. Generalized mixed effects models were used to investigate associations between relative covers of woodland, low-green, grassland, and garden, and average annual medication sales. Models were adjusted for socio-economic background variables, urban-rural differences, and administrative region, and included random effects of latitude and longitude. Results: Urban census tracts were associated with 9–10% higher medication sales. In nationwide models, a 10% increase in relative cover of woodland, garden, and grass was associated with a 1–2% decrease in medication sales. The same association was found for low green but only for men. In stratified models, a 10% increase in relative cover of any green space type in urban census tracts was associated with a decrease of medication sales by 1–3%. In rural census tracts, no protective associations between green space and mood disorder medication sales were observed, with the exception of relative woodland cover for women (−1%), and low green was associated with higher medication sales (+6–7%). Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that living in green environments may be beneficial for adult mental health. Woodland exposure seemed the most beneficial, but the amount of green space was more important than the type. Results underline the importance of conserving green space in our living environment, for the conservation of biodiversity and for human health.
KW - Environmental epidemiology
KW - Medication sales
KW - Mental health
KW - Mood disorders
KW - Residential green space
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125629807&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113056
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113056
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85125629807
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 211
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
M1 - 113056
ER -