Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/36670
Title: Residential green space is associated with a buffering effect on stress responses during the COVID-19 pandemic in mothers of young children, a prospective study
Authors: VOS, Stijn 
BIJNENS, Esmee 
RENAERS, Eleni 
CROONS, Hanne 
VAN DER STUKKEN, Charlotte 
MARTENS, Dries 
PLUSQUIN, Michelle 
NAWROT, Tim 
Issue Date: 2022
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
Source: Environmental Research, 208 (Art N° 112603)
Abstract: Green spaces are associated with increased well-being and reduced risk of developing psychiatric disorders. In this study, we aimed to investigate how residential proximity to green spaces was associated with stress response buffering during the COVID-19 pandemic in a prospective cohort of young mothers. We collected information on stress in 766 mothers (mean age: 36.6 years) from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort at baseline of the study (from 2010 onwards), and during the COVID-19 pandemic (from December 2020 until May 2021). Self-reported stress responses due to the COVID-19 pandemic were the outcome measure. Green space was quantified in several radiuses around the residence based on high-resolution (1 m2) data. Using ordinal logistic regression, we estimated the odds of better resistance to reported stress, while controlling for age, socio-economic status, stress related to care for children, urbanicity, and household change in income during the pandemic. In sensitivity analyses we corrected for pre-pandemic stress levels, BMI, physical activity, and changes in health-related habits during the pandemic. We found that for an inter-quartile range contrast in residential green space 300 m and 500 m around the residence, participants were respectively 24% (OR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.03 to 1.51) and 29% (OR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.04 to 1.60) more likely to be in a more resistant category, independent of the aforementioned factors. These results remained robust after additionally controlling for pre-pandemic stress levels, BMI, physical activity, smoking status, urbanicity, psychological disorders, and changes in health-related habits during the pandemic. This prospective study in young mothers highlights the importance of proximity to green spaces, especially during challenging times.
Notes: Nawrot, TS (corresponding author), Agoralaan Bldg D, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
tim.nawrot@uhasselt.be
Keywords: COVID-19;Well-being;Stress;Green space;Nature;Epidemiology
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/36670
ISSN: 0013-9351
e-ISSN: 1096-0953
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112603
ISI #: 000752033300008
Rights: 2021 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Category: A1
Type: Journal Contribution
Validations: ecoom 2023
Appears in Collections:Research publications

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