There are more and more studies that link the contact with green spaces with health benefits. A new study by the Institute of Global Health of Barcelona (ISGlobal) ​​has analyzed for the first time its relationship with breast cancer. The study, which included data of more than 3,000 women in Spain, suggests that women who live near urban green spaces have a lower risk of developing breast cancer. On the contrary, the proximity to agricultural areas is related to a higher risk.

Closeness to green spaces has been already associated with improvements in health, such as a better state of general and mental health, and greater life expectancy. Recently, it has been linked to slower cognitive decline in older people; and in children, it has been linked with improvements in the capacity of attention, in emotional and behavioral development, and even with beneficial structural changes in the brain. However, so far little research has focused on its relationship with cancer risk and, in particular, with breast cancer —the most common among women and the one that causes more deaths in the female population.

The new study, published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health and carried out under the MCC-Spain project, included data of 1,738 women with breast cancer and 1,900 women with no history of breast cancer in ten Spanish provinces (Asturias, Barcelona, Cantabria, Girona, Guipúzcoa, Huelva, León, Madrid, Navarra y Valencia).

The data used for the research was obtained through interviews with each of the participants –residential history, life habits, socioeconomic level and levels of physical activity– and using the geolocation of their current home the researchers obtained how close they live from urban green spaces or agricultural areas, levels of air pollution and population density.

“We have observed that women who live near urban green spaces have a lower risk of breast cancer while, on the contrary, the risk of breast cancer is higher in women who live near agricultural areas, which indicates that the association between green spaces and breast cancer can depend on the use given to the land“, said Cristina O’Callaghan-Gordo, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the publication.

Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, coordinator of the study and of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative of ISGlobal, said: “We saw a linear trend between the distance to urban green areas and the risk of breast cancer; in other words, the closer women lived from green spaces, the fewer were the cases of cancer.”

This study “demonstrates the importance of nature for health, which must be part of the city and, instead of dispersed points, natural spaces must be a weft that communicates the entire urban space and benefits all citizens,” he added.

“We still do not know what characteristics of natural spaces are more beneficial for people’s health and what is the mechanism that explains this relationship,” explains Manolis Kogevinas, ISGlobal researcher and MCC-Spain project coordinator.

“Other studies indicate that the mechanisms that could explain the beneficial effect of green spaces include higher levels of physical activity and less exposure to air pollution, which has been linked to the development of cancer, although in this study we could not observe these associations. We believe that other mechanisms, such as reducing stress levels in people living near green spaces, could explain this association, but more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis,” he said.

As for the association between breast cancer and agricultural spaces, previous studies suggest that this link is due to the use of pesticides in agriculture. “In our research, we have not analyzed the levels of exposure to agrochemicals, but future studies should take them into account to understand the mechanism that explains this association“, concludes O’Callaghan-Gordo.

 

Source: SINC