Trial reportInternational journal of environmental research and public health2018
Effects of Horticultural Therapy on Asian Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 52 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect Of Horticultural Therapy On The Level Of Happiness And Loneliness Of Elderly Living In Nursing Home
Pilot Evaluation of Technology-enhanced Horticultural Activities Among the People With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers
Effectiveness of Information Technology-Assisted Horticultural Therapy Program on Heart Rate Variability, Stress, Depression and Happiness Among Older Adults Resident in Long-Term Care Facilities
Changi General Hospital Complementary Health Therapy
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 149 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effectiveness of nature-based interventions on mental health: A systematic review.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Pooled it
- Nature-based interventions for older adults: a systematic review of intervention types and methods, health effects and pathways.Age and ageing · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of gardening activities on domains of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Restorative Effects from Green Exposure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- What Activities in Forests Are Beneficial for Human Health? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The effect of horticultural therapy on depressive symptoms among the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Horticultural therapy for general health in the older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Are Community Gardening and Horticultural Interventions Beneficial for Psychosocial Well-Being? A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of Green Space Exposure on Children's and Adolescents' Mental Health: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Pooled it
- Trial
- Horticultural Therapy Reduces Biomarkers of Immunosenescence and Inflammaging in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Feasibility Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2021Trial
- The Association of Knowledge, Attitudes and Access with Park Use before and after a Park-Prescription Intervention for Low-Income Families in the U.S.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- The Effects of a Forest Therapy Programme on Mental Hospital Patients with Affective and Psychotic Disorders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Urban Care Farming to Enhance Quality of Life Among Older Adults: Protocol for a Waitlist Randomized Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Association between Gardening Activity and Frailty in Patients with Heart Failure.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2025Article
- Impact of Community-Based Food Interventions on Health, Well-being, and Social Connectedness of Older Adults: A Scoping Review.Health & social care in the community · 2025Article
- Editorial: International perspectives on older adult social isolation and loneliness.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The effect of horticultural therapy (HT) on immune and endocrine biomarkers remains largely unknown. We designed a waitlist-control randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of HT in improving mental well-being and modulating biomarker levels. A total of 59 older adults was recruited, with 29 randomly assigned to the HT intervention and 30 to the waitlist control group. The participants attended weekly intervention sessions for the first 3 months and monthly sessions for the subsequent 3 months. Biological and psychosocial data were collected. Biomarkers included IL-1β, IL-6, sgp-130, CXCL12/SDF-1α, CCL-5/RANTES, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), hs-CRP, cortisol and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). Psychosocial measures examined cognitive functions, depression, anxiety, psychological well-being, social connectedness and satisfaction with life. A significant reduction in plasma IL-6 level (
conclusionHT, in reducing plasma IL-6, may prevent inflammatory disorders and through maintaining plasma CXCL12 (SDF-1α), may maintain hematopoietic support to the brain. HT may be applied in communal gardening to enhance the well-being of older adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.