Proximity to urban parks and mental health.
Proximity to urban parks and mental health.
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发表时间：
2014-03
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通讯作者：
R. Sturm;D. Cohen
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作者：
R. Sturm;D. Cohen
近年来，城市公园作为一种可能的环境因素受到了人们的关注，它可以鼓励身体活动，预防肥胖，减少慢性病的发病率。尽管长期以来假设公园对心理健康有益，但很少有公园研究纳入心理健康措施。研究的目的是测试靠近城市公园和心理困扰之间的关系。方法对个人健康调查结果进行横断面分析。收集数据是为了对洛杉矶社区公园的资本改善进行研究。根据距离公园的距离（400米、800米、1.6公里和3.2公里；N=1070），对居住地址样本进行了调查。在控制观察到的个体特征的情况下，我们使用多元回归来估计MHI-5（结果变量）测量的心理困扰与公园距离（主要解释变量）之间的关系。结果心理健康状况与公园居住距离显著相关，距离公园步行距离较短（400米）内居民的MHI-5得分最高，随后距离显著降低。访问次数和身体活动时间与距离显著且独立相关，尽管控制它们并不能降低距离与心理健康之间的关联。本文为一个可能非常古老的问题提供了一个新的数据点，但美国的经验数据很少。附近的城市公园所带来的心理健康益处相当于将当地失业率降低了2个百分点，这表明环境干预至少有改善心理健康的潜力。分析是横断面的，因此不可能控制重要的混杂因素，包括住宅选择。精神卫生政策传统上侧重于以个人为中心的干预措施。正如针对可预防慢性疾病的卫生政策已将注意力转移到可改变的环境决定因素上一样，人口心理健康可能从环境干预中受益匪浅。政策评估在评估社区改善计划和自然环境时应纳入心理健康措施。许多最近和正在进行的研究都排除了心理健康措施，因为他们认为这些措施对受访者来说过于繁重或无关紧要。如果因果关系得到证实，那么改善社区条件和物理环境可能是改善大量人口心理健康问题的一种可扩展的方法。
BACKGROUND Urban parks have received attention in recent years as a possible environmental factor that could encourage physical activity, prevent obesity, and reduce the incidence of chronic conditions. Despite long hypothesized benefits of parks for mental health, few park studies incorporate mental health measures. AIMS OF THE STUDY To test the association between proximity to urban parks and psychological distress. METHODS Cross-sectional analysis of individual health survey responses. Data were collected for a study of capital improvements of neighborhood parks in Los Angeles. A survey was fielded on a sample of residential addresses, stratified by distance from the park (within 400m, 800m, 1.6 km, and 3.2km; N=1070). We used multiple regression to estimate the relationship between the psychological distress as measured by the MHI-5 (outcome variable) and distance to parks (main explanatory variable), controlling for observed individual characteristics. RESULTS Mental health is significantly related to residential distance from parks, with the highest MHI-5 scores among residents within short walking distance from the park (400m) and decreasing significantly over the next distances. The number of visits and physical activity minutes are significantly and independently related to distance, although controlling for them does not reduce the association between distance and mental health. DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS This paper provides a new data point for an arguably very old question, but for which empirical data are sparse for the US. A nearby urban park is associated with the same mental health benefits as decreasing local unemployment rates by 2 percentage points, suggesting at least the potential of environmental interventions to improve mental health. The analysis is cross-sectional, making it impossible to control for important confounders, including residential selection. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY Mental health policy has traditionally focused on individual-centered interventions. Just as health policy for preventable chronic illnesses has shifted attention to modifiable environmental determinants, population mental health may benefit substantially from environmental interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Policy evaluations should incorporate mental health measures when assessing neighborhood improvement programs and physical environments. Many recent and ongoing studies have excluded mental health measure in the belief that they are too burdensome for respondents or irrelevant. If a causal relationship is confirmed, then ameliorating neighborhood conditions and physical environments could represent a scalable way to improve mental health issues for large populations.