Research

Mixed

Increased greenspace exposure is associated with a reduced incidence of specific chronic diseases, including Type II diabetes, cardiovascular mortality, and stroke.

Living in or frequently visiting areas with higher greenness is associated with a lower risk of developing Type II diabetes and cardiovascular mortality. This suggests that environmental factors play a role in chronic disease prevention, independent of individual lifestyle choices alone.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Meta-analysis results showed... decreased risk of... type II diabetes 0.72 (95% CI 0.61, 0.85)... cardiovascular mortality 0.84 (95% CI 0.76, 0.93)... Incidence of stroke... were reduced.
Caoimhe Twohig-Bennett et al. · Environmental Research · 2018

Why this rating

Based on meta-analysis of multiple studies, though heterogeneity is high for some outcomes.

Source

The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes

Caoimhe Twohig-Bennett et al. · Environmental Research · 2018

DOI 10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.030

Meta-analysis · 143 studiesCited 1,637×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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