Study: Plants a tree that throw away antidepressants?

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Reference Taylor MS, Wheeler BW, White Member, Economou t, Osborne NJ. Research note: Tree density in urban streets and prescription rates of antidepressants - a cross -sectional study in London, united Kingdom. Landsc Urban planned. April 2015; 136: 174-179. Design cross-sectional analysis for comparison of data records of the prescription rates of pharmaceutical antidepressants (AD-RX) with the density of city street trees (VAT) in London, England, United Kingdom (UK). Both variables were analyzed based on geographical districts, each of which comprises about 250,000 inhabitants and comprises about 50 km (20 square miles )2). Participants of London (approx. 8 million inhabitants) who in the 2009–2010 financial year the British National Health Service (NHS) in ...
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Reference

Taylor MS, Wheeler BW, White Member, Economou t, Osborne NJ. Research note: Tree density in urban streets and prescription rates of antidepressants - a cross -sectional study in London, united Kingdom. Landsc Urban planned. April 2015; 136: 174-179.

Design

cross-sectional analysis for comparing data records of the prescription rates of pharmaceutical antidepressants (AD-RX) with the density of urban street trees (VAT) in London, England, United Kingdom (UK). Both variables were analyzed based on geographical districts, each of which comprises about 250,000 inhabitants and comprises about 50 km (20 square miles) 2 ).

participant

residents of London (approx. 8 million inhabitants) who claimed the British National Health Service (NHS) in the 2009–2010 financial year: It is estimated that about 90 % of the British population claim the NHS for their health care, 1 Provision of a high -representative and robust sample of Londoners. All 33 London districts were included in this study.

Exposure study

The exposure to VAT was determined by calculating the middle density of road trees per km of roads for each district based on data that is available from a standard green area rate of Greater London Authority. A detailed recording by the British city administration ensured that every street tree in the city of London was recorded.

target parameter

This study examined the rates of NHS AD-RX, averaged for each district. Due to the universal persecution of modern electronic medical records (EMR), the almost omnipresent NHS registration and the requirement of prescription for the preservation of pharmaceutical antidepressants, the AD-RX rate is viewed as an adequate and complete indicator of the depression rates across London.
Control for potentially confusing factors included district agent 1) the socio -economic status (ses), 2) the employment status, 3) tobacco consumption and 4) age. Bayes’s data analysis methods were used to compensate for other non -measured disruptive factors and to take into account uncertainties in the effect models.

important knowledge

After checking for confusing variables, the rates of AD-RX were associated with the VAT density using a standard linear regression model. In particular, the addition of 1 UST was connected to 1.18 fewer AD-RX per 1,000 inhabitants per district (‒1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: ‒2.45-0.00). This is a minor change compared to the uninhibited model (‒1,38, 95 % AI: 2.72-0.03), which shows that disruptive factors such as income and employment status influenced the AD-RX rates, but these SES factors do not take into account all the factors in between.

Comment

The relationship between environmental factors (in particular natural features) and the psychological state of health is well documented in the research literature 2.3 and was previously discussed in this magazine. 4.5 This brief research study complements this work as an interested result of results. The use of prescription rates for antidepressants is a unique method for evaluating health results and supports previous self-reported measurements of mental health that show a connection with the VAT density. 6 While the use of AD-RX as a proxy has its limits (see below), the robustness of the data minimizes many of these concerns.
currently state up to 12 % of the Americans to have had at least 1 episode of severe depression last year, which cost $ 23 billion in labor productivity annually due to absenteeism alone.
This study is valuable regardless of the method in that it examines a possible solution to the modern epidemic of clinical depression. Currently, up to 12 % of the Americans state that they have had at least 1 episode of a severe depression last year, which, based on absenteeism, cost $ 23 billion in labor productivity. The number 1 will reach.
This increase in depression prolongs has numerous causes, including the acceleration of urban development and the resulting "nature deficit disorder" that has already been discussed. demonstrated, 10.11 as well as large epidemiological city-against-land comparisons. A meta-analysis of 20 studies carried out in 2010 (n = 143.894) from economically developed countries resulted in a statistically significant increase in mood disorders (ODDS Ratio [or]: 1.28; 95 % -KI: 1.13–1.44; p <0.001) and anxiety disorders (OR: 1.13; 95 % KI: 1,00–1.28;
All of this data support the holistic “attitude approach” for health and well -being, which becomes an important aspect of modern public health and the practice of sustainable urban development. 13 It also easily falls into the field of naturopathy, since exposure to natural elements in the urban environment reduces the effects of diseases during positive Health states are cultivated that contribute to general well -being.
As with every research study, these also have its limits. As already mentioned, it was a cross -sectional study in which existing data records were used. It can only produce a spatial correlation and cannot show any causality or direct effect of VAT on depression prices or AD-RX. In addition, the study uses aggregated average data for each district, and therefore all attempts to attribute individual relationships or advantages are used to the "ecological conclusion error" to the victim, which postulates that what applies to the group as a whole necessarily applies to every person in the group. However, as mentioned above, other experimental studies 6.16 have shown effects at the individual level.
In addition, only the density of street trees was examined in this study. Other aspects of urban green spaces (UGs) such as court trees, house or allotment gardens or the proximity to public parks or city forests, which have been shown to influence the measurement of mental health, have not been taken into account. Confusion of UGS effects.
Finally, the AD-RX rate is only a proxy measure for the prevalence of depression in the population. It is generally known that not everyone is diagnosed medically with clinical depression and that not every pharmaceutical interventions are looking for or uses. An unknown percentage of study population probably uses complementary and integrative health (formerly referred to as complementary and alternative medicine). This partial population would therefore be outside the NHS data. A stricter future study could be considered a direct assessment of individual depression criteria or the prevalence of clinical depression diagnosis, as other studies have done. However, explaining some of these restrictions on the study design and suggest that the analysis are enough to further investigations. To justify the relationship between VAT and depression.

This study complements the evidence base for the support of UGS as an instrument for health promotion and suggests that increased exposure to nature for residents of modern urban environments can be useful to improve mental health.

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