A study conducted by experts affiliated with Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health found that residing in areas with parks and rivers may lessen the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.
As it was emphasized in JAMA, the study explored the beneficial effects of nature among elderly people living in the mainland U.S. between 2000 and 2016.
Most of the participants were women and white.
“In this US-based cohort study of approximately 62 million Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older, protective associations of greenness (normalized difference vegetation index), park cover, and blue space cover with PD hospitalization were observed. Greenness, but not park or blue space cover, was associated with a decreased risk of ADRD hospitalization,” according to the study.
“These findings suggest that exposure to some natural environments may reduce the risk of ADRD and PD hospitalization among older adults.”
