Department of Behavioral Science and Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 22;12(1):10580. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15004-0.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to national lockdowns in countries around the world. Whilst lockdowns were shown to be effective in reducing the spread of disease, they were also associated with adverse effects on people's mental health and wellbeing. Previous studies have suggested that time spent outside may have played a role in mitigating these negative effects, but research on this topic remains limited. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the longitudinal associations between going outdoors and people's mental health and wellbeing during the first national lockdown (March-May 2020) in the UK. Data from 35,301 participants from the COVID-19 Social Study were analysed. Fixed effects regression was used to explore the longitudinal association between changes in going outdoors (the number of days spent outside) and changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, life satisfaction and loneliness. A range of household and neighbourhood moderators were examined. Results show that an increase in the number of days spent outside was associated with decreases in depressive and anxiety symptoms and an increase in life satisfaction. Associations were more salient amongst people living with others, and those with greater satisfaction with their neighbourhood walkability and green spaces. No longitudinal association was found with loneliness. Overall, our analyses showed a positive association between going outdoors and improved mental health and wellbeing during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. These findings are important for formulating guidance for people to stay well at home during pandemics and for the on-going nature-based social prescribing scheme.
COVID-19 大流行导致全球各国实施了全国封锁。虽然封锁被证明在减少疾病传播方面非常有效，但它们也对人们的心理健康和幸福感产生了不利影响。先前的研究表明，户外活动时间可能在减轻这些负面影响方面发挥了作用，但关于这一主题的研究仍然有限。因此，本研究旨在探索在英国第一次全国封锁期间（2020 年 3 月至 5 月）户外活动与人们的心理健康和幸福感之间的纵向关联。对来自 COVID-19 社会研究的 35301 名参与者的数据进行了分析。采用固定效应回归来探索户外活动（户外活动天数）变化与抑郁症状、焦虑症状、生活满意度和孤独感变化之间的纵向关联。研究还考察了一系列家庭和社区的调节因素。结果表明，户外活动天数的增加与抑郁和焦虑症状的减轻以及生活满意度的提高有关。这些关联在与他人同住的人群以及对邻里可步行性和绿地满意度较高的人群中更为显著。与孤独感之间没有纵向关联。总体而言，我们的分析表明，在英国第一次 COVID-19 封锁期间，户外活动与改善心理健康和幸福感之间存在正相关。这些发现对于制定在大流行期间保持良好状态的居家指南以及正在进行的自然为本的社会处方计划非常重要。
