Michigan State University, Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Sciences, East Lansing, MI, United States of America.
University of Otago, Department of Public Health, Wellington, New Zealand.
PLoS One. 2019 Aug 30;14(8):e0221977. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221977. eCollection 2019.
Research linking green space and mental health abounds. It also appears that oceanic blue spaces may be salutogenic, benefitting mental health through their expansive viewscapes, and possibly auditory and olfactory stimuli. Yet, it is unknown whether the same is true for freshwater bodies. In this ecological study, we explored associations between hospitalizations for anxiety/mood disorder in Michigan (>30,000) and proximity to the North American Great Lakes. As a sensitivity analysis, we examined associations for 15 different inland lake sizes. Results showed small, protective effects for distance to Great Lake (β = 0.06, p<0.001) and percentage of inland lakes (β = -0.04, p = 0.004). Unexpectedly, shorter distance to nearest inland lake was associated with higher anxiety/mood disorder hospitalizations. The protective effects of percentage area covered by inland lakes was observed for all lake sizes. These initial findings provide a foundation for future individual-level research with finer measurement of health outcomes and blue space exposure.
绿色空间与心理健康之间的关联研究层出不穷。海洋蓝色空间似乎也具有促进健康的作用，通过其广阔的景观以及可能的听觉和嗅觉刺激有益于心理健康。然而，对于淡水水体是否同样如此，目前还不得而知。在这项生态研究中，我们探讨了密歇根州（超过 30000 人）因焦虑/情绪障碍住院治疗与靠近北美五大湖之间的关联。作为敏感性分析，我们还检查了 15 种不同内陆湖大小的关联。结果表明，距离大湖（β=0.06，p<0.001）和内陆湖比例（β=-0.04，p=0.004）越小，保护效果越好。出乎意料的是，最近的内陆湖的距离与更高的焦虑/情绪障碍住院率有关。内陆湖覆盖面积百分比的保护作用在所有湖泊大小中都得到了观察。这些初步发现为未来更精细地测量健康结果和蓝色空间暴露的个体水平研究提供了基础。
