PHENOTYPE. Therapeutic Study in Barcelona

Barcelona Institute for Global Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Poor Mental Health; Natural Outdoor Environments

Treatments: Other: There was no intervention.

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02624921

PHENOTYPE_WP4BCN

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study aimed to explore therapeutic effects of natural environments. To do so, the investigators evaluated the immediate and sustained changes in several indicators of well-being while people (n=26) with poor mental health were engaged in unconstrained exposures to natural (green, blue) and urban environments. The indicators included: affection, cognition, physiological responses.

Each participant was exposed to all environments for a period of 210 minutes between October 2013 and January 2014. During the exposure period, participants were instructed to do what they would usually do in that environment. Before, during (at 30 and 210 minutes) and after each exposure, several psycho-physiological measures were taken: (i) heart rate variability and heart rate using a Holter monitor, (ii) blood pressure using a digital blood pressure monitor, (iii) physical activity using the CalFIT application installed in a Smartphone, (iv) lung function using a portable computerized spirometer, (v) stress level using salivary cortisol samples collected using Salivettes, (vi) affect, perceived restoration and social interactions using questionnaires, (vii) cognitive functioning using the backwards digit-span task test.

Enrollment: 26 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• MHI-5 scored in the lower 50th percentile of the Barcelona city PHENOTYPE sample
• willing to participate

Exclusion criteria

• no able to walk for 30 minutes at self-directed pace.
• with chest, abdomen surgery or heart attack during the last three months.
• with retinal detachment or eyes surgery or hospitalized for heart problem during the last month.
• with tuberculosis treatment, or respiratory infection during the last three weeks.
• being asthmatic or pregnant
• using inhaler the 24 hours previous to the study day.
• taking medication different from the usual the 24 hours previous to the study day.