Deng B, Boden J, Ye N, Morgenroth J, Campbell M, Eggleton P, McLeod G, Hobbs M
Faculty of Health, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand; GeoHealth Laboratory, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Christchurch Health and Development Study, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Environ Int. 2025 Jan;195:109223. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.109223. Epub 2024 Dec 20.
The beneficial impacts of greenspace availability on mental health are well-documented. However, longitudinal evidence using a spatial lifecourse perspective is rare, leaving the dynamics of how greenspace influences mental health across the lifecourse unclear. This study first uses prospective birth cohort data to examine the associations between greenspace availability in childhood (0-16 years) and mental health in adolescence (16 years) and between greenspace availability and mental health across adulthood (18-40 years).
Data were obtained from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, comprised 1,265 cohort members born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1977. Mental health outcomes including depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation were assessed in adolescence (16 years), and in adulthood (18-40 years). Greenspace availability from birth to age 40 years was measured as the proportion of vegetated areas within circular buffers (radius from 100m to 3000m) around members' geocoded residential addresses using a time-series impervious surfaces data from 1985 to 2015. Bayesian Relevant Lifecourse exposure models examined the associations between childhood greenspace availability and adolescent mental health and tested for critical/sensitive age periods. Generalised Estimating Equation logistic regression models assessed the associations between greenspace availability and mental health across adulthood. These analyses were adjusted for various important individual, family, and area-level covariates.
No associations were found between childhood greenspace availability and any adolescent mental health conditions. However, in adulthood, a one standard deviation increase in greenspace availability within 1500m and 2000m buffers was associated with a 12% and 13% reduced risk of depressive symptoms, respectively, after adjusting for various covariates.
This study supports the protective effects of greenspace on adult depressive symptoms, highlighting the significance of employing a spatial lifecourse epidemiology framework to examine the long-term effects of environmental factors on health over the lifecourse.
绿地可用性对心理健康的有益影响已有充分记录。然而，从空间生命历程角度进行的纵向研究证据很少，使得绿地在整个生命历程中如何影响心理健康的动态变化尚不清楚。本研究首次使用前瞻性出生队列数据，来检验儿童期（0至16岁）的绿地可用性与青少年期（16岁）心理健康之间的关联，以及绿地可用性与成年期（18至40岁）心理健康之间的关联。
数据来自克赖斯特彻奇健康与发展研究，该研究包含1977年在新西兰克赖斯特彻奇出生的1265名队列成员。在青少年期（16岁）和成年期（18至40岁）评估心理健康结果，包括抑郁症状、焦虑症和自杀意念。利用1985年至2015年的时间序列不透水表面数据，将成员地理编码居住地址周围圆形缓冲区（半径从100米到3000米）内植被区域的比例作为从出生到40岁的绿地可用性指标。贝叶斯相关生命历程暴露模型检验儿童期绿地可用性与青少年心理健康之间的关联，并测试关键/敏感年龄阶段。广义估计方程逻辑逻辑回归模型评估成年期绿地可用性与心理健康之间的关联。这些分析对各种重要的个体、家庭和地区层面的协变量进行了调整。
未发现儿童期绿地可用性与任何青少年心理健康状况之间存在关联。然而，在成年期，在调整各种协变量后，1500米和2000米缓冲区的绿地可用性每增加一个标准差，抑郁症状风险分别降低12%和13%。
本研究支持绿地对成人抑郁症状的保护作用，强调采用空间生命历程流行病学框架来研究环境因素在整个生命历程中对健康的长期影响的重要性。
