2023-08-07 00:06:08
In this publicationthe authors looked at 92 studies in which nature bathing was prescribed to patients with cardiometabolic diseases or depression – including 28 studies that were used in the meta-analysis.
Most of the 92 studies were randomized controlled trials (66 studies) in high-income countries, including South Korea, Japan and the United States. Most of the pre-existing illnesses of patients treated “by nature” were psychiatric (depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, etc.) or cardiometabolic (hypertension, obesity, coronary heart disease, etc.). The treatment consisted mainly of the prescription of a stay in a nature reserve or in the forest (15 studies), in a park (26 studies) or in a small rural community (15 studies). The activities prescribed on site varied according to the studies: walking, sport, simple rest, etc.
Two-thirds of the studies reported psychological benefits of such therapies, using various anxiety and depression scores. Over 40% of studies reported physical health benefits, including the decrease in systolic pressure as well as diastolic pressure on average by nearly 4 mmHg in the meta-analysis.
Although most of the included studies were at risk of bias, including loss of participants, the authors conclude that nature prescriptions have positive effects on cardiometabolic and mental health.
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