Citation

Amoly E, Dadvand P, Forns J, López-Vicente M, Basagaña X, Julvez J, Alvarez-Pedrerol M, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Sunyer J. Environ. Health Perspect. 2014; 122(12): 1351-1358.

Affiliation

Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL); and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

DOI

10.1289/ehp.1408215

PMID

25204008

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Green spaces have been associated with improved mental health in children; however, available epidemiological evidence on their impact on child behavioral development is scarce.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of contact with green spaces and blue spaces (beaches) on indicators of behavioral development and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schoolchildren.

METHODS: This study was based on a sample of 2,111 schoolchildren (7-10 years) from 36 schools in Barcelona (2012). We obtained data on time spent in green spaces and beaches, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) from parents, and ADHD/DSM-IV questionnaires from teachers. Surrounding greenness was abstracted as the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in buffers of 100m, 250m, and 500m around each home address. Proximity to green spaces was defined as living within 300m of a major green space (≥0.05 km(2)). We applied quasi-Poisson mixed effects models (with school random effect) to separately estimate associations between indicators of contact with green spaces and SDQ and ADHD total and subscale scores.

RESULTS: We generally estimated beneficial associations between behavioral indicators and longer time spent in green spaces and beaches, and with residential surrounding greenness. Specifically, we found statistically significant inverse associations between green space playing time and SDQ total difficulties, emotional symptoms, and peer relationship problems; between residential surrounding greenness and SDQ total difficulties and hyperactivity/inattention and ADHD/DSM-IV total and inattention scores; and between annual beach attendance and SDQ total difficulties, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior. For proximity to major green spaces the results were not conclusive.

CONCLUSION: Our findings support beneficial impacts of contact with green and blue spaces on behavioral development in schoolchildren.

Language: en