Trial reportScientific reports2025
Reduced hair cortisol concentrations are associated with improved emotional wellbeing in older adults following repeated forest walking.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of green exercise on mental health in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Hair cortisol and cortisone and psychological well-being: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Monitoring muscle oxygen saturation during forest trail hiking: a prospective open-label quasi-experimental study with facility-based allocation examining physiological and immunological responses in older adults.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Promoting Healthy Organizations Through Urban Nature: Psychological and Physiological Effects in Healthcare Workers.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 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
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The main hypothesis of this study in older adults is that repeated walks in a forest but not an urban environment for one month lead to reduced chronic stress compared to the previous month without any intervention. This was achieved by the measurement of cumulative cortisol concentrations in hair. Older adults of both sexes (n = 54; 71 ± 6.2 years) participated in a randomised, parallel-group trial. They were randomly assigned to a forest or an urban walking group. They completed two 40-minute walking sessions per week over one month. Hair samples and morning, as well as afternoon salivary samples, were collected at baseline and following one month of walking interventions.A significant reduction in cumulative hair cortisol was observed during the month of repeated forest but not urban walking compared to the previous month, indicating decreased chronic stress. Salivary cortisol concentrations decreased in the forest group only. No differences in salivary alpha-amylase activity were noticed. Walking activities had no negative impact on the diurnal rhythmicity of stress markers. Quality of life measures showed improvements in emotional well-being in the forest group. A negative correlation was found between hair cortisol and certain quality of life dimensions in urban but not forest groups. Repeated forest walks affect objective measures of chronic stress in older adults, evidenced by lower cumulative hair cortisol concentrations and improved emotional well-being. These findings encourage incorporating forest-based interventions into mental health programs for older adults aimed at enhancing well-being, stress coping, and cognitive functions.
Indexed as
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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.