School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 29;18(11):5842. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18115842.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating consequences for health, social, and economic domains, but what has received far less focus is the effect on people's relationship to vital ecological supports, including access to greenspace. We assessed patterns of greenspace use in relation to individual and environmental factors and their relationship with experiencing psychological symptoms under the pandemic. We conducted an online survey recruiting participants from social media for adults in Korea for September-December 2020. The survey collected data on demographics, patterns of using greenspace during the pandemic, and major depression (MD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2) were applied to identify probable cases of MD and GAD. A logistic regression model assessed the association decreased visits to greenspace after the outbreak compared to 2019 and probable MD and GAD. Among the 322 survey participants, prevalence of probable MD and GAD were 19.3% and 14.9%, respectively. High rates of probable MD (23.3%) and GAD (19.4%) were found among persons currently having job-related and financial issues. Of the total participants, 64.9% reported decreased visits to greenspace after the COVID-19 outbreak. Persons with decreased visits to greenspace had 2.06 higher odds (95% CI: 0.91, 4.67, significant at < 0.10) of probable MD at the time of the survey than persons whose visits to greenspace increased or did not change. Decreased visits to greenspace were not significantly associated with GAD (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 0.63, 3.34). Findings suggest that barriers to greenspace use could deprive people of mental health benefits and affect mental health during pandemic; an alternative explanation is that those experiencing poor mental health may be less likely to visit greenspaces during pandemic. This implies the need of adequate interventions on greenspace uses under an outbreak especially focusing on how low-income populations may be more adversely affected by a pandemic and its policy responses.
新冠疫情对健康、社会和经济领域造成了毁灭性的影响,但人们对其对人们与重要生态支持物关系的影响关注甚少,包括获得绿色空间的机会。我们评估了与个人和环境因素有关的绿色空间使用模式,以及这些模式与大流行期间经历心理症状的关系。我们在 2020 年 9 月至 12 月期间通过社交媒体向韩国成年人进行了一项在线调查,以招募参与者。该调查收集了人口统计学数据、大流行期间使用绿色空间的模式以及重度抑郁症(MD)和广泛性焦虑症(GAD)症状的数据。应用患者健康问卷(PHQ-9)和广泛性焦虑症 2 项(GAD-2)来确定 MD 和 GAD 的可能病例。逻辑回归模型评估了与大流行后相比减少访问绿地的情况与可能的 MD 和 GAD 之间的关联。在 322 名调查参与者中,MD 和 GAD 的可能病例的患病率分别为 19.3%和 14.9%。在目前有工作相关和财务问题的人中,MD 的高发病率(23.3%)和 GAD(19.4%)。在所有参与者中,有 64.9%的人报告说,自新冠疫情爆发以来,他们减少了对绿地的访问。与绿地访问量增加或不变的人相比,绿地访问量减少的人在调查时患有 MD 的可能性高 2.06 倍(95%CI:0.91,4.67,<0.10)。绿地访问量减少与 GAD 无显著相关性(OR=1.45,95%CI:0.63,3.34)。研究结果表明,使用绿地的障碍可能剥夺人们的心理健康益处,并在大流行期间影响心理健康;另一种解释是,那些心理健康状况不佳的人在大流行期间可能不太可能访问绿地。这意味着在大流行期间需要对绿地使用进行适当的干预,特别是要关注低收入人群如何受到大流行及其政策应对措施的更不利影响。