Visiting green space is associated with mental health and vitality: A cross-sectional study in four european cities.

Many epidemiological studies have found that people living in environments with more green space report better physical and mental health than those with less green space. However, the association between visits to green space and mental health has seldom been studied. The current study explored the associations between time spent in green spaces by purposeful visits and perceived mental health and vitality in four different European cities, and to what extent gender, age, level of education, attitude towards nature and childhood nature experience moderate these associations.

Surrounding greenness, proximity to city parks and pregnancy outcomes in Kaunas cohort study.

There is increasing evidence that green space can improve the health and well-being of urban residents. However, there has been no consistent evidence of the effect of city parks on reproductive health. We investigated whether surrounding greenness levels and/or distance to city parks affect birth outcomes.

The impact of tobacco smoke exposure on wheezing and overweight in 4-6-year-old children.

Aim: To investigate the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy, second-hand tobacco smoke (STS) exposure, education level, and preschool children's wheezing and overweight.

Methods: This cohort study used data of the KANC cohort--1,489 4-6-year-old children from Kaunas city, Lithuania. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to study the influence of prenatal and postnatal STS exposure on the prevalence of wheezing and overweight, controlling for potential confounders.

Impact of residential greenness on preschool children's emotional and behavioral problems.

This study investigated the effects of the proximity to city parks and the influence of residential greenness on children's emotional and behavioral problems. This cross-sectional study included 1,468 mothers of children (ages 4 to 6) who were residents of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. The mothers and their children were enrolled in the FP7 PHENOTYPE project study.

The influence of proximity to city parks on blood pressure in early pregnancy.

This study investigated the effect of proximity to city parks on blood pressure categories during the first trimester of pregnancy. This cross-sectional study included 3,416 female residents of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, who were enrolled in the FP7 PHENOTYPE project study. The women were classified into four blood pressure categories: optimal, normal, high-normal blood pressure, and hypertension.