ArticleNature. Mental health2026
Nature exposure reduces self-reported pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Nature. Mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Chronic Pain in Older Adults: Risk Factors and Prevention.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Brief virtual nature exposure and acute stress: inconclusive evidence regarding stress reactivity, recovery, and emotion regulation.Journal of environmental psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Pain is a global health issue with substantial individual, societal and economic impacts. Given the risks of pharmacological treatments, complementary approaches to pain management are essential. Nature exposure has emerged as a promising nonpharmacological strategy, but evidence of its effectiveness is inconclusive. Here in this systematic review and meta-analysis we examined 62 studies (96 effects) across 21 countries, including 4,439 participants, to assess the impact of nature exposure on self-reported pain. The results indicate a significant small-to-moderate reduction in pain associated with nature exposure (standardized mean difference of 0.53), but studies exhibited moderate-to-high risk of bias and substantial heterogeneity. Studies evaluating nature against matched comparators reported effects roughly half the size of those using nonmatched controls and multisensory stimuli tended to show stronger effects. These findings support nature as a promising complementary pain management strategy. However, high heterogeneity and risk of bias warrant caution and highlight the need for more rigorous research.
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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.