Cities are constantly evolving and so are the living conditions within and between them. Rapid urbanization and the ever-growing need for housing have turned large areas of many cities into concrete ...landscapes that lack greenery. Green infrastructure can support human health, provide socio-economic and environmental benefits, and bring color to an otherwise grey urban landscape. Sometimes, benefits come with downsides in relation to its impact on air quality and human health, requiring suitable data and guidelines to implement effective greening strategies. Air pollution and human health, as well as green infrastructure and human health, are often studied together. Linking green infrastructure with air quality and human health together is a unique aspect of this article. A holistic understanding of these links is key to enabling policymakers and urban planners to make informed decisions. By critically evaluating the link between green infrastructure and human health via air pollution mitigation, we also discuss if our existing understanding of such interventions is sufficient to inform their uptake in practice.
Natural science and epidemiology approach the topic of green infrastructure and human health very differently. The pathways linking health benefits to pollution reduction by urban vegetation remain unclear and the mode of green infrastructure deployment is critical to avoid unintended consequences. Strategic deployment of green infrastructure may reduce downwind pollution exposure. However, the development of bespoke design guidelines is vital to promote and optimize greening benefits, and measuring green infrastructure's socio-economic and health benefits are key for their uptake. Greening cities to mitigate pollution effects is on the rise and these need to be matched by scientific evidence and appropriate guidelines. We conclude that urban vegetation can facilitate broad health benefits, but there is little empirical evidence linking these benefits to air pollution reduction by urban vegetation, and appreciable efforts are needed to establish the underlying policies, design and engineering guidelines governing its deployment.
•Pathways linking health benefits to pollution reduction by urban vegetation remain unclear.•The mode of green infrastructure deployment is critical to avoid unintended consequences.•Strategic deployment of green infrastructure may reduce downwind pollution exposure.•Development of design guidelines is vital to promote and optimize greening benefits.•Measuring green infrastructure's socio-economic and health benefits are key research needs.
•Distributive patterns alone cannot explain older people’s park visitation patterns.•Older people’s Integration in social networks enhances park visitation.•Elders with bad self-rated health are ...likely to visit parks hardly ever.•Framework that considers distributive, interactional and participatory justice alike.
Urban green spaces provide multiple ecosystem services to city residents and are considered an important element of socio-environmental justice. For older people, urban green spaces are important for health and well-being because they provide spaces for physical activity and social interaction. They can be regarded as spaces of encounter. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset of park visitation patterns, demographic characteristics and social network patterns, we explore older people’s urban green space visitation patterns for the case of Berlin (Germany). We found that older people who have close social networks use urban parks more often than those who are more isolated in their daily lives. Self-estimated good health also contributes to more frequent park use. We discuss these findings along the three dimensions of socio-environmental justice: distributive, interactional and procedural. Based on our findings, we develop a framework that calls for an integrated view of these three justice dimensions, which all contribute equally and inseparably to a just provision of urban ecosystem services. Most importantly, we recommend urban planning to understand the city as an integrated socio-ecological system in which the planning and design of urban green spaces focus on providing ecosystem services together with enabling the creation of social networks in order to increase socio-environmental justice.
Background and Objective: Food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain access to adequate and healthy food in terms of nutrition or limited ability to obtain food in socially acceptable ways, ...which can affect the health of the elderly. The aim of this research is to investigate the state of food insecurity and the factors affecting it and its role in physical and mental health in the elderly. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 550 elderly people aged 60 years and older who referred to 10 health centers in Sanandaj, and were selected via random cluster sampling. Demographic information questionnaire, HFIAS food security questionnaire (8 questions with a score range of 0 to 24) and Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (28 questions with 4 subscales) were completed and reviewed. Findings: In this study, 324 elderly women and 224 men were evaluated, 75.6% were married and 73.6% were illiterate. The findings showed that 59.1% (325 people) of the elderly had some degree of food insecurity and severe insecurity was observed in 62 people (11.3%). Food insecurity in people with moderate to severe physical symptoms (OR=7.33), anxiety and sleep disorder (OR=8.63), functional disorder (OR=6.78), depression (OR=21.12) and in general, moderate to severe general health disorder (OR=11.85) was seen more. In addition, food insecurity, not being married, being illiterate, living alone, and low income were observed to a greater extent in women. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the prevalence of food insecurity among the elderly in Sanandaj is significant and is related to factors such as general, physical and mental health disorders.
The various non-standard schedules required of shift workers force abrupt changes in the timing of sleep and light-dark exposure. These changes result in disturbances of the endogenous circadian ...system and its misalignment with the environment. Simulated night-shift experiments and field-based studies with shift workers both indicate that the circadian system is resistant to adaptation from a day- to a night-oriented schedule, as determined by a lack of substantial phase shifts over multiple days in centrally controlled rhythms, such as those of melatonin and cortisol. There is evidence that disruption of the circadian system caused by night-shift work results not only in a misalignment between the circadian system and the external light-dark cycle, but also in a state of internal desynchronization between various levels of the circadian system. This is the case between rhythms controlled by the central circadian pacemaker and clock genes expression in tissues such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells, hair follicle cells, and oral mucosa cells. The disruptive effects of atypical work schedules extend beyond the expression profile of canonical circadian clock genes and affects other transcripts of the human genome. In general, after several days of living at night, most rhythmic transcripts in the human genome remain adjusted to a day-oriented schedule, with dampened group amplitudes. In contrast to circadian clock genes and rhythmic transcripts, metabolomics studies revealed that most metabolites shift by several hours when working nights, thus leading to their misalignment with the circadian system. Altogether, these circadian and sleep-wake disturbances emphasize the all-encompassing impact of night-shift work, and can contribute to the increased risk of various medical conditions. Here, we review the latest scientific evidence regarding the effects of atypical work schedules on the circadian system, sleep and alertness of shift-working populations, and discuss their potential clinical impacts.
The Central Sensitization (CSI) Inventory was introduced in 2012. It was initially intended as a screener to help identify when presenting symptoms may be related to central sensitization or indicate ...the presence of a central sensitivity syndrome. It has now been translated and validated in a number of European, Asian, and South American languages. This article provides an overview of CSI rationale, development, recommended uses, and research results, including evidence of validity and reliability, in clinical and non‐clinical subject samples.
The role of parks and nature to support well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain. To examine this topic, we used mixed-methods data collected in April–May 2020 from US adults aged ≥55 in ...the COVID-19 Coping Study. We quantitatively evaluated the associations between number of neighborhood parks and depression, anxiety, and loneliness; and conducted qualitative thematic analysis of participants’ outdoor experiences. Among urban residents, depression and anxiety were inversely associated with the number of neighborhood parks. Thematic analysis identified diverse engagement in greenspaces that boosted physical, mental, and social well-being. The therapeutic potential of outdoor and greenspaces should be considered for interventions during future epidemics.
•Responses to COVID-19 highlight therapeutic landscapes experiences as dynamic & relational.•Participants purposefully engaged with diverse natural and outdoor spaces during COVID-19.•Outdoor engagement supported perceived social, mental, and physical well-being.•Living around more parks was linked to less depression and anxiety among urban residents.•The pandemic highlights natural and built environmental disparities.
Nowadays our global society faces big challenges and threats in the times of the first major pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced governments to impose the lock-down policies around the ...world. Social isolation became a new normal form of living. After the first confirmed case on the 8th of March in Bulgaria, the government announced on the 14th of March the lock-down as a preventive strategy for the whole Bulgarian population. Under such circumstances, the big issue became the question of how to maintain the physical and mental health of people, and how to cope with the new reality. Based on this evidence the aim of the joint research study with Ohio State University, USA, entitled “Psychological Responses, Coping Strategies, and Physical Activity during the COVID – 19 Pandemic” has been proposed from the Bulgarian perspective as follows: 1. Investigate psychological responses, coping strategies, and physical activity during the COVID – 19 lock-down periods. 2. Examine the influence of physical activity as a coping strategy in psychological health and overall well-being during social isolation. To this end, an online questionnaire containing an adapted version of the short-form of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) has been used to assess the practiced level of physical activity and Metabolic Equivalents (MET) energy expenditure, PROMIS Item Bank v1.0 Emotional distress-Anxiety, Herth Hope Index (HHI) (Herth, 1992), and Brief Resilient Coping Scale BRCS (Sinclaire, Wallston, 2004) to evaluate psychological well-being during the social isolation. Evidence suggests that regular participation in physical activity helps decrease overall levels of anxiety and depression as a reliable coping strategy to overcome the social isolation and, as a whole, the negative aspects of lockdown
This study extends research on the relationship between physical activity and adolescent resilience by using cross-lagged analysis. Therefore, it used the Adolescent Resilience Rating Scale and the ...Physical Activity Scale to conduct a one-year longitudinal follow-up survey on 818 adolescents (50.6% boys), aged 12-17. They completed the questionnaires, providing data on physical activity and adolescent resilience. The results indicated there were significant gender differences in physical activity, but there was no significant gender difference in adolescent resilience; there was a significant positive correlation between physical activity and adolescent resilience; physical activity had a significant predictive effect on adolescent resilience. This study supports the assertion that physical activity has an important impact on adolescent resilience. It further analyzes the possible reasons for this result and contemplates the theoretical and practical significance of the findings, which provides evidence for the study of adolescents' physical and mental health and enriches the theory of resilience.
No consensus on whether physical activity (PA) is related to physical and mental health among pediatric population remains has been reached to date. To further explore their association, our study ...assessed the effect of PA on physical and mental health of children and adolescents through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies (RCTs).
Several databases(Web of science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central register of controlled trials, CINAHL) were searched from inception to 1st, December 2020 without language restrictions.
38,236 records were identified primitively and 31 included studies with 1,255 participants eventually met our inclusion criteria, all of which exhibited a relatively low-moderate risk of bias of overall quality. In regard to mental health, the administration of PA, compared with the control group, led to moderate improvements in Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD)Standard mean difference (SMD) = -0.50, Confidence interval(CI): -0.87, -0.14) and depression(SMD = -0.68, CI: -0.98, -0.38) among children and adolescents. Similarly, significant result was observed in obesity (SMD = -0.58, CI: -0.80, -0.36). No significant differences were observed in Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (SMD = -0.29, CI: -0.59, 0.01).
Altogether, PA may have a beneficial effect on children and adolescents with ASD, depression and obesity; nevertheless, there is insufficient evidence to confirm its efficacy in ADHD. More large-scale population based randomized controlled trials are needed to explore more reliable evidence between them.
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