ArticleEnvironment international2019
Green and blue spaces and physical functioning in older adults: Longitudinal analyses of the Whitehall II study.
Article in Environment international, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Gut Microbiome and Residential Surrounding Greenness: a Systematic Review of Epidemiological Evidence.Current environmental health reports · 2023Pooled it
- Relationship between Green and Blue Spaces with Mental and Physical Health: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Observational Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Long-Term Exposure to Residential Greenspace and Healthy Ageing: a Systematic Review.Current environmental health reports · 2020Pooled it
- Out-of-home mobility enhancement by a physiotherapist-led motivational counselling intervention among rural community-dwelling older adults 75+: the MOBILE RCT.BMC geriatrics · 2026Trial
- Optimal Scale of Greenspace Exposure for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Treatment Success: Multi-scale Associations and Interactions with Air Pollutants.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026Article
- An evaluation of the impact of visual attributes of park landscape spaces on the emotional benefits and behavioral intention of younger older adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Homo sapiens, industrialisation and the environmental mismatch hypothesis.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Toward a proposal for a national strategy for access to outdoor stays in residential care facilities for older adults in Sweden.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Non-linear effects of the urban green space on promoting restorative physical activity among older adults living with different chronic disease status in semi-arid area: a case study of Lanzhou, China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- An acute intervention experimental study on the effects of green and blue environment exposure combined with tai chi exercise on the emotional health of elderly males.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Park proximity, housing characteristics, and self-reported health among older adults in China.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- The association of multiple built environment factors with a clinical measure of grip strength.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- Impact of dementia-landscaped therapy garden on psychological well-being- A pilot study.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Article
- Living and neighborhood environments and anxiety symptoms among older adults in Anhui, China: evidence from a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Impact of urban green spaces on mental restoration in older adults: a perspective based on subjective perception.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Association of Residential Greenness Exposure with Depression Incidence in Adults 50 Years of Age and Older: Findings from the Cohort Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) in China.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Exploring the effect of different typical plant community on human stress reduction: a field experiment.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Tracking Progress Toward Urban Nature Targets Using Landcover and Vegetation Indices: A Global Study for the 96 C40 Cities.GeoHealth · 2024Article
- Article
- Characteristics of Home and Neighborhood Built Environments During COVID-19 for Older Adults in the United States and Italy.Journal of aging and environment · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
There is increasing evidence of the health benefits of exposure to natural environments, including green and blue spaces. The association with physical functioning and its decline at older age remains to be explored. The aim of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal association between the natural environment and the decline in physical functioning in older adults. We based our analyses on three follow-ups (2002-2013) of the Whitehall II study, including 5759 participants (aged 50 to 74 years at baseline) in the UK. Exposure to natural environments was assessed at each follow-up as (1) residential surrounding greenness across buffers of 500 and 1000 m around the participants' address using satellite-based indices of greenness (Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)) and (2) the distance from home to the nearest natural environment, separately for green and blue spaces, using a land cover map. Physical functioning was characterized by walking speed, measured three times, and grip strength, measured twice. Linear mixed effects models were used to quantify the impact of green and blue space on physical functioning trajectories, controlled for relevant covariates. We found higher residential surrounding greenness (EVI and NDVI) to be associated with slower 10-year decline in walking speed. Furthermore, proximity to natural environments (green and blue spaces combined) was associated with slower decline in walking speed and grip strength. We observed stronger associations between distance to natural environments and decline in physical functioning in areas with higher compared to lower area-level deprivation. However, no association was observed with distance to green or blue spaces separately. The associations with decline in physical functioning were partially mediated by social functioning and mental health. Our results suggest that higher residential surrounding greenness and living closer to natural environments contribute to better physical functioning at older ages.
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