Does exposure to nature make children more intelligent? Analysis in Polish children with and without ADHD

Dorota Buczyłowska; Clemens Baumbach; Jakub Bratkowski; Yarema Mysak; Maja Wierzba-Łukaszyk; Krzysztof Skotak; Katarzyna Sitnik-Warchulska; Małgorzata Lipowska; Bernadetta Izydorczyk; Marcin Szwed; Iana Markevych

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114239

Does exposure to nature make children more intelligent? Analysis in Polish children with and without ADHD

Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2023 Aug:253:114239. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114239. Epub 2023 Aug 8.

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: dorota.buczylowska@uj.edu.pl.
² Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
³ Institute of Environmental Protection-National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
⁴ Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
⁵ Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
⁶ Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Health and Quality of Life in a Green and Sustainable Environment, SRIPD, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

PMID: 37562123
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114239

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that exposure to nature and physical activity (PA) may be associated with higher intelligence in children. We examined whether there is an association between lifelong exposure to greenspace and bluespace and intelligence in children aged 10-13 with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and whether PA mediates this association. The sample (N = 714) was collected within the NeuroSmog case-control study, where children with (N = 206) and without ADHD (N = 508) were recruited from 18 towns in Southern Poland. Nature exposure was estimated as the sum of the z-scores of the objective and perceived measures. Objective greenspace exposure was defined as the percentage of grass and tree cover in 500 m and 1 km buffers around lifelong residential addresses, respectively. Objective bluespace exposure was defined as the percentage of water cover in 500 m and 1 km buffers. Perceived greenspace/bluespace was measured as the parent-rated availability, quality, and use of greenspace/bluespace. Intelligence was assessed using the Polish version of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th edition (SB5). SB5 Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Nonverbal IQ, Verbal IQ, five factor and ten subtest scores were analysed as outcomes. The associations between nature and IQ scores were assessed by linear regressions separately for cases and controls, adjusting the models for sex, parental education, and urbanicity. Structural equation modeling was implemented to test whether PA mediated the association between nature and intelligence. None of the greenspace or bluespace measures were consistently associated with intelligence. PA was not found to be a mediator. We did not find evidence that higher lifelong nature exposure is associated with higher intelligence in Polish schoolchildren with or without ADHD. This casts doubts on whether exposure to nature has relevant influence on IQ.

Keywords: Blue space; Children; Cognition; Epidemiology; Green space; Nature; Physical activity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity*
Case-Control Studies
Child
Humans
Intelligence
Intelligence Tests
Poland