Does physical activity mediate the associations between blue space and mental health? A cross-sectional study in Australia

BMC Public Health

Research

Dean Dudley¹  Nicole Taylor²  Rhiannon Lee White²  Emma Murrin³  Louisa Peralta⁴  Wayne Cotton⁴ 

[1] Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia;School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, 2751, Penrith, NSW, Australia;School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, 2751, Penrith, NSW, Australia;Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Psychological well-being;    Well being;    Water;    Exercise;    Nature;    Mediation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-023-15101-3

 received in 2022-05-27, accepted in 2023-01-19,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundResearch has begun to examine whether blue space is beneficial to mental health. While results are promising, it is difficult to know which aspects of mental health or mental ill-health may benefit most. Physical activity has been proposed as one potential mechanism via which blue space may be associated with better mental health. However, very few studies have examined mechanisms. We examined associations between blue space proximity and a range of mental health outcomes and examined which of these associations were mediated by physical activity.Methods350 participants (M = 38.74, SD = 14.92, 70% female) self-reported their weekly physical activity and completed measures of depression, anxiety, and psychological wellbeing. We then used GIS software to calculate blue space proximity (i.e., coastal and inland), and structural equation modelling with mediation paths to determine the role of physical activity in the associations between bluespace and mental health.ResultsPhysical activity partially mediated the associations between coastal proximity and depression (β = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.05), anxiety (β = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.06), and wellbeing (β = − 0.03, 95% CI = − 0.08, − 0.01), and fully mediated the associations between inland water proximity and depression (β = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.003, 0.05), anxiety (β = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.07), and wellbeing (β = − 0.03, 95% CI = − 0.07, − 0.01).ConclusionWhile physical activity appears to explain associations between inland blue space and mental health outcomes, it only partially explains the association between coastal blue space and mental health, suggesting other mechanisms may play a role and even inactive exposure may be beneficial.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023