title: Visiting green space is associated with mental health and vitality: A cross-sectional study in four european cities.
abstract: Many epidemiological studies have found that people living in environments with more green space report better physical and mental health than those with less green space. However, the association between visits to green space and mental health has seldom been studied. The current study explored the associations between time spent in green spaces by purposeful visits and perceived mental health and vitality in four different European cities, and to what extent gender, age, level of education, attitude towards nature and childhood nature experience moderate these associations. Data was gathered using a questionnaire administered in four European cities (total n=3748). Multilevel analyses showed significant positive associations between time spent visiting green spaces and mental health and vitality in the pooled data, as well as across the four cities. Significant effect modification was found for level of education and childhood nature experience. The findings confirm the hypothesis that more time spent in green space is associated with higher scores on mental health and vitality scales, independent of cultural and climatic contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public & Occupational Health and EMGO Institute for Health and Care research, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: mm.vandenberg@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van den Berg
authors.affiliation: Department of Public & Occupational Health and EMGO Institute for Health and Care research, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Institute of Sport Science, University of Graz, Mozartgasse 14, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Mireille
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Poppel
authors.affiliation: Center for Sustainability, Environment and Health National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: van Kamp
authors.affiliation: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, K. Donelaičio g. 58, Kaunas 44248, Lithuanian.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andrusaityte
authors.affiliation: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, K. Donelaičio g. 58, Kaunas 44248, Lithuanian.
authors.forename: Birute
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Balseviciene
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; University Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiology y Salud Publica (CIBERESP), Barcelona 08036, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cirach
authors.affiliation: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, K. Donelaičio g. 58, Kaunas 44248, Lithuanian.
authors.forename: Asta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Danileviciute
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2DF, UK.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2DF, UK.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hurst
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2DF, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Masterson
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environment, Sustainability and Regeneration, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2DF, UK.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; University Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiology y Salud Publica (CIBERESP), Barcelona 08036, Spain.
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Triguero-Mas
authors.affiliation: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, K. Donelaičio g. 58, Kaunas 44248, Lithuanian.
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uzdanaviciute
authors.affiliation: Department of Public & Occupational Health and EMGO Institute for Health and Care research, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Puck
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Wit
authors.affiliation: Department of Public & Occupational Health and EMGO Institute for Health and Care research, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van Mechelen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Sport, Health and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2DF, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gidlow
authors.affiliation: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, K. Donelaičio g. 58, Kaunas 44248, Lithuanian.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grazuleviciene
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Dr. Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; University Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiology y Salud Publica (CIBERESP), Barcelona 08036, Spain.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuijsen
authors.affiliation: Center for Sustainability, Environment and Health National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hanneke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kruize
authors.affiliation: Department of Public & Occupational Health and EMGO Institute for Health and Care research, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Social & Organizational Psychology Group, Amsterdam, VU University, van der Boechorststraat 1, NL 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jolanda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002947:Cities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004779:Environment Design; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D019368:Nature; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cross-sectional study; Mental health; Natural environment; Visits to green spaces; Vitality