SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
The Effects of Forest Therapy on Immune Function.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Forest therapy using virtual reality in the older population: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Forest soundscapes improve mood, restoration and cognition, but not physiological stress or immunity, relative to industrial soundscapes.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of forest walking compared to urban walking in enhancing mucosal immunity.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Therapeutic effects of forest bathing on older adult patients with essential hypertension: evidence from a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Long-Term Effects of Mountain Hiking vs. Forest Therapy on Physical and Mental Health of Couples: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Homo sapiens, industrialisation and the environmental mismatch hypothesis.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Comparative analysis of physiological and psychological effects of viewing and drinking flower tea.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Forest Bathing (Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- How recreational therapies impact physiological and psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients: a review.Oncology reviews · 2026Review
- Nature-based physical activity in breast cancer survivors: a new frontier in supportive care.Oncology reviews · 2026Article
- Promoting Healthy Organizations Through Urban Nature: Psychological and Physiological Effects in Healthcare Workers.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Article
- Effects of Forest Environments in Attenuating D-Galactose-Induced Immunosenescence: Insights from a Murine Model.Biology · 2025Article
- Components and Application Plans for Designing a Korean Forest Therapy Prescription Model: Using Case Examination and a Focus Group Interview (FGI).Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Greenspaces And Cardiovascular Health.Circulation research · 2024Review
- Effects of an urban forest healing program on cancer-related fatigue in cancer survivors.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Article
- Cognition and Interaction: From the Perspective of Daily Therapeutic Landscape of the Coastal Zone.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effects of phytoncide on immune cells and psychological stress of gynecological cancer survivors: randomized controlled trials.Journal of exercise rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Effects of Plant-Emitted Monoterpenes on Anxiety Symptoms: A Propensity-Matched Observational Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Observational
- The Influence of Virtual Forest Walk on Physiological and Psychological Responses.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Non-Pharmacological Measures in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 Infection.Medical archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We conducted a systematic review of the effects of a forest therapy program on adults' immune function. We used PICO-SD (participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, study design) to identify key items. The participants were adults over the age of 18 and the intervention was forest therapy. Our comparisons included studies that comparatively analyzed urban groups or groups that did not participate in forest therapy intervention. Cases without control groups were also included. Immunological outcome measures were included in measuring intervention outcomes. All experimental studies, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-equivalent control group designs (non-RCTs), and one-group pretest-posttest design were included in the study design. A total of 13 studies were included for comparison. Forest therapy programs were divided into lodging-type and session-type programs. The representative measures for evaluating the effects of immune function were the number of NK cells, the cytotoxic activity of NK cells, and cytotoxic effector molecules. Most studies reported improvement in these measures when comparing values after intervention with values before the forest therapy intervention. Therefore, forest therapy has been found to be effective in improving immune function. More RCT studies on the effects of forest therapy on immune function are necessary.
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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.