Valuing the health benefits of nature-based recreational physical activity in England.

Physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of several non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Natural environments support recreational PA. Using data including a representative cross-sectional survey of the English population, we estimated the annual value of nature-based PA conducted in England in 2019 in terms of avoided healthcare and societal costs of disease. Population-representative data from the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey (n = 47,580; representing 44,386,756) were used to estimate the weekly volume of nature-based recreational PA by adults in England in 2019. We used epidemiological dose-response data to calculate incident cases of six NCDs (ischaemic heart disease (IHD), ischaemic stroke (IS), type 2 diabetes (T2D), colon cancer (CC), breast cancer (BC) and major depressive disorder (MDD)) prevented through nature-based PA, and estimated associated savings using published costs of healthcare, informal care and productivity losses. We investigated additional savings resulting from hypothetical increases in: (a) visitor PA and (b) visitor numbers. In 2019, 22million adults > 16 years of age in England visited natural environments at least weekly. At reported volumes of nature-based PA, we estimated that 550 cases of IHD, 168 cases of IS, 1,410 cases of T2D, 41 cases of CC, 37 cases of BC and 10,552 cases of MDD were prevented, creating annual savings of £108.7million (95 % uncertainty interval: £70.3million; £150.3million). Nature-based recreational PA in England results in reduced burden of disease and considerable annual savings through prevention of priority NCDs. Strategies that increase nature-based PA could lead to further reductions in the societal burden of NCDs.

Estimating the Impact of Relative Financial Circumstances in Childhood on Adult Mental Wellbeing: a Mediation Analysis.

Previous research has indicated that the role of childhood circumstances on adult mental health is primarily mediated through adult socioeconomic circumstances. Using linear regression models and mediation analysis this paper examines whether childhood financial circumstances is associated with adult mental wellbeing and to what extent any association is explained by adult financial circumstances. Adjusting for age and highest education attainment, we found that childhood financial circumstances predict wellbeing in adulthood. However, stratifying by age (respondents aged 18-40, 41-65 and 66 years plus), a more complicated pattern of associations emerged with potential cohort and age effects emerging. Only adult financial circumstances significantly impact adult wellbeing in our youngest group, while neither childhood nor adult financial circumstances are significantly associated with wellbeing in the oldest age group (66 years plus). However, both childhood and adult financial circumstances were significantly associated with wellbeing in middle age, and this effect was mostly direct (OR-1.09: CI 95%: -1.63, -0.17) rather than indirect (OR-0.08: CI 95%: -0.17, -0.01). This research adds to the evidence base that childhood is a critical period for wellbeing in middle age (41-65 years). Previous research has found that subjective wellbeing plays an important role in physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. The impact of financial hardship in childhood on wellbeing in adulthood found in this study is particularly concerning as levels of child poverty increase in the UK.

The value of blue-space recreation and perceived water quality across Europe: A contingent behaviour study.

This study estimates the value of recreational visits to blue-space sites across 14 EU Member States, representing 78% of the Union's population. Across all countries surveyed, respondents made an average of 47 blue-space visits per person per year. Employing travel cost and contingent behaviour methods, the value of a visit is estimated at €41.32 which adds up to a recreational value of €631bn per year for the total adult population surveyed. Using the Bathing Water Directive's water quality designation, the analysis shows that a one-level improvement in water quality leads to 3.13 more visits (+6.67%), whereas a one-level deterioration leads to 9.77 fewer annual visits (-20.83%). This study provides valuations of benefits of recreation and changes of recreational values due to changes in surface water quality, which can be compared to the implementation and monitoring costs of efforts under the EU's Bathing Water, Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives.

Social cohesion, mental wellbeing and health-related quality of life among a cohort of social housing residents in Cornwall: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Research and policy have identified social cohesion as a potentially modifiable determinant of health and wellbeing that could contribute to more sustainable development. However, the function of social cohesion appears to vary between communities. The aim of this study was to analyse the levels of, and associations, between social cohesion, mental wellbeing, and physical and mental health-related quality of life among a cohort of social housing residents from low socioeconomic status communities in Cornwall, UK. Social housing is below market-rate rental accommodation made available to those in certain health or economic circumstances. These circumstances may impact on the form and function of social cohesion. METHODS: During recruitment, participants in the Smartline project completed the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, SF-12v2 and an eight item social cohesion scale. Cross sectional regression analyses of these data adjusted for gender, age, national identity, area socioeconomic status, rurality, education, employment, and household size were undertaken to address the study aim. RESULTS: Complete data were available from 305 (92.7%) participants in the Smartline project. Univariable analyses identified a significant association between social cohesion, mental wellbeing and mental health-related quality of life. Within fully adjusted multivariable models, social cohesion only remained significantly associated with mental wellbeing. Sensitivity analyses additionally adjusting for ethnicity and duration of residence, where there was greater missing data, did not alter the findings. CONCLUSIONS: Among a relatively homogeneous cohort, the reported level of social cohesion was only found to be significantly associated with higher mental wellbeing, not physical or mental health-related quality of life. The efforts made by social housing providers to offer social opportunities to all their residents regardless of individual physical or mental health state may support the development of a certain degree of social cohesion. Sense of control or safety in communities may be more critical to health than social cohesion. Additional observational research is needed before attempts are made to alter social cohesion to improve health.

A multidimensional understanding of prosperity and well-being at country level: Data-driven explorations.

Social scientists have been interested in measuring the prosperity, well-being, and quality of life of nations, which has resulted in a multiplicity of country-level indicators. However, little is known about the factor structure of these indicators. We explored the structure of quality of life, using country-level data on tens of subjective and objective indicators. Applying factor analysis, we identified three distinct factors that exhibited both overlap and complementarity. This structure was replicated in data from previous years and with a partially different set of variables. The first factor, 'socio-economic progress', is dominated by socio-political and economic indicators but also includes life satisfaction, which thus appears to reflect objective living conditions. The second factor, 'psycho-social functioning', consists of subjective indicators, such as eudaimonic well-being and positive affective states. The third, 'negative affectivity', comprises negatively-valenced affective states. The three macro-factors of societal quality of life demonstrated moderate intercorrelations and differential associations with cultural and ecological variables, providing support for their discriminant validity. Finally, country and regional rankings based on the three societal factors revealed a complex picture that cautions against over-reliance on any single indicator such as life satisfaction. The results underline the need for a broadly-based approach to the measurement of societal quality of life, and provide an empirically-derived multidimensional framework for conceptualizing and measuring quality of life and well-being at country level. This study is thus an initial empirical step towards systematizing the multiple approaches to societal quality of life.

Exposure to Indoor Mouldy Odour Increases the Risk of Asthma in Older Adults Living in Social Housing.

Background: Indoor dampness is thought to affect around 16% of European homes. It is generally accepted that increased exposure to indoor dampness and mould contamination (e.g., spores and hyphae) increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma. Around 30% of people in the Western world have an allergic disease (e.g., allergy, wheeze and asthma). The role of indoor mould contamination in the risk of allergic diseases in older adults is yet to be fully explored. This is of interest because older people spend more time indoors, as well as facing health issues due to the ageing process, and may be at greater risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma as a result of indoor dampness. Methods: Face-to-face questionnaires were carried out with 302 participants residing in social housing properties located in South West England. Self-reported demographic, mould contamination (i.e., presence of mould growth and mouldy odour) and health information was linked with the asset management records (e.g., building type, age and levels of maintenance). Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odd ratios and confidence intervals of developing and/or exacerbating asthma, wheeze and allergy with exposure to reported indoor mould contamination. We adjusted for a range of factors that may affect asthma outcomes, which include age, sex, current smoking, presence of pets, education, and building type and age. To assess the role of mould contamination in older adults, we compared younger adults to those aged over 50 years. Results: Doctor-diagnosed adult asthma was reported by 26% of respondents, 34% had current wheeze while 18% had allergies. Asthma was common among subjects exposed to reported visible mould (32%) and reported mouldy odour (42%). Exposure to visible mould growth and mouldy odour were risk factors for asthma, but not for wheeze or allergy. Exposure to mouldy odour increased the risk of asthma in adults over the age of 50 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-5.34) and the risk was higher for females than for males (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.37-9.08). These associations were modified by a range of built environment characteristics. Conclusions: We found that older adults living in social (public) housing properties, specifically women, may be at higher risk of asthma when exposed to mouldy odour, which has a number of implications for policy makers and practitioners working in the health and housing sector. Additional measures should be put in place to protect older people living in social housing against indoor damp and mould contamination.

An Overview of Open-Ended Evolution: Editorial Introduction to the Open-Ended Evolution II Special Issue.

Nature's spectacular inventiveness, reflected in the enormous diversity of form and function displayed by the biosphere, is a feature of life that distinguishes living most strongly from nonliving. It is, therefore, not surprising that this aspect of life should become a central focus of artificial life. We have known since Darwin that the diversity is produced dynamically, through the process of evolution; this has led life's creative productivity to be called Open-Ended Evolution (OEE) in the field. This article introduces the second of two special issues on current research in OEE and provides an overview of the contents of both special issues. Most of the work was presented at a workshop on open-ended evolution that was held as a part of the 2018 Conference on Artificial Life in Tokyo, and much of it had antecedents in two previous workshops on open-ended evolution at artificial life conferences in Cancun and York. We present a simplified categorization of OEE and summarize progress in the field as represented by the articles in this special issue.

Evolutionary Innovations and Where to Find Them: Routes to Open-Ended Evolution in Natural and Artificial Systems.

This article presents a high-level conceptual framework to help orient the discussion and implementation of open-endedness in evolutionary systems. Drawing upon earlier work by Banzhaf et al. (2016), three different kinds of open-endedness are identified: exploratory, expansive, and transformational. These are characterized in terms of their relationship to the search space of phenotypic behaviors. A formalism is introduced to describe three key processes required for an evolutionary process: the generation of a phenotype from a genetic description, the evaluation of that phenotype, and the reproduction with variation of individuals according to their evaluation. The formalism makes explicit various influences in each of these processes that can easily be overlooked. The distinction is made between intrinsic and extrinsic implementations of these processes. A discussion then investigates how various interactions between these processes, and their modes of implementation, can lead to open-endedness. However, an important contribution of the article is the demonstration that these considerations relate to exploratory open-endedness only. Conditions for the implementation of the more interesting kinds of open-endedness-expansive and transformational-are also discussed, emphasizing factors such as multiple domains of behavior, transdomain bridges, and non-additive compositional systems. In contrast to a traditional Darwinian analysis, these factors relate not to the generic evolutionary properties of individuals and populations, but rather to the nature of the building blocks out of which individual organisms are constructed, and the laws and properties of the environment in which they exist. The article ends with suggestions of how the framework can be used to categorize and compare the open-ended evolutionary potential of different systems, how it might guide the design of systems with greater capacity for open-ended evolution, and how it might be further improved.

Open-Ended Evolution and Open-Endedness: Editorial Introduction to the Open-Ended Evolution I Special Issue.

Nature's spectacular inventiveness, reflected in the enormous diversity of form and function displayed by the biosphere, is a feature of life that distinguishes living most strongly from nonliving. It is, therefore, not surprising that this aspect of life should become a central focus of artificial life. We have known since Darwin that the diversity is produced dynamically, through the process of evolution; this has led life's creative productivity to be called Open-Ended Evolution (OEE) in the field. This article introduces the first of two special issues on current research on OEE and on the more general concept of open-endedness. Most of the papers presented in these special issues are elaborations of work presented at the Third Workshop on Open-Ended Evolution, held in Tokyo as part of the 2018 Conference on Artificial Life.

Public involvement in research about environmental change and health: A case study.

Involving and engaging the public are crucial for effective prioritisation, dissemination and implementation of research about the complex interactions between environments and health. Involvement is also important to funders and policy makers who often see it as vital for building trust and justifying the investment of public money. In public health research, 'the public' can seem an amorphous target for researchers to engage with, and the short-term nature of research projects can be a challenge. Technocratic and pedagogical approaches have frequently met with resistance, so public involvement needs to be seen in the context of a history which includes contested truths, power inequalities and political activism. It is therefore vital for researchers and policy makers, as well as public contributors, to share best practice and to explore the challenges encountered in public involvement and engagement. This article presents a theoretically informed case study of the contributions made by the Health and Environment Public Engagement Group to the work of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change and Health (HPRU-ECH). We describe how Health and Environment Public Engagement Group has provided researchers in the HPRU-ECH with a vehicle to support access to public views on multiple aspects of the research work across three workshops, discussion of ongoing research issues at meetings and supporting dissemination to local government partners, as well as public representation on the HPRU-ECH Advisory Board. We conclude that institutional support for standing public involvement groups can provide conduits for connecting public with policy makers and academic institutions. This can enable public involvement and engagement, which would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in individual short-term and unconnected research projects.

Making the Case for "Whole System" Approaches: Integrating Public Health and Housing.

Housing conditions have been an enduring focus for public health activity throughout the modern public health era. However, the nature of the housing and health challenge has changed in response to an evolution in the understanding of the diverse factors influencing public health. Today, the traditional public health emphasis on the type and quality of housing merges with other wider determinants of health. These include the neighbourhood, community, and "place" where a house is located, but also the policies which make access to a healthy house possible and affordable for everyone. Encouragingly, these approaches to policy and action on housing have the potential to contribute to the "triple win" of health and well-being, equity, and environmental sustainability. However, more effective housing policies (and in public health in general) that adopt more systemic approaches to addressing the complex interactions between health, housing, and wider environment are needed. This paper illustrates some of the key components of the housing and health challenge in developed countries, and presents a conceptual model to co-ordinate activities that can deliver the "triple win." This is achieved by offering a perspective on how to navigate more effectively, inclusively and across sectors when identifying sustainable housing interventions.

The nexus between climate change, ecosystem services and human health: Towards a conceptual framework.

This paper addresses the impact that changes in natural ecosystems can have on health and wellbeing focusing on the potential co-benefits that green spaces could provide when introduced as climate change adaptation measures. Ignoring such benefits could lead to sub-optimal planning and decision-making. A conceptual framework, building on the ecosystem-enriched Driver, Pressure, State, Exposure, Effect, Action model (eDPSEEA), is presented to aid in clarifying the relational structure between green spaces and human health, taking climate change as the key driver. The study has the double intention of (i) summarising the literature with a special emphasis on the ecosystem and health perspectives, as well as the main theories behind these impacts, and (ii) modelling these findings into a framework that allows for multidisciplinary approaches to the underlying relations between human health and green spaces. The paper shows that while the literature based on the ecosystem perspective presents a well-documented association between climate, health and green spaces, the literature using a health-based perspective presents mixed evidence in some cases. The role of contextual factors and the exposure mechanism are rarely addressed. The proposed framework could serve as a multidisciplinary knowledge platform for multi-perspecitve analysis and discussion among experts and stakeholders, as well as to support the operationalization of quantitative assessment and modelling exercises.

Social determinants of male health: a case study of Leeds, UK.

BACKGROUND: The social determinants of health have a disproportionate impact on mortality in men. A study into the state of health of the male population in Leeds was undertaken to guide public health commissioning decisions. This paper reports on the data relating to the social lives of men. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken, comprising descriptive analysis of data relating to educational attainment, housing, employment (including benefit claimants), marital status and relationships. Data was considered for the whole city and localised at the Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) level and mapped against the Index of Deprivation. RESULTS: Boys' educational attainment was found to be lagging behind girls' from their earliest assessments (Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, 46% vs. 60%, P = 0.00) to GCSEs (53% vs. 63%, P = 0.00), leaving many men with no qualifications. There were 68% more men than women identified as being unemployed, with more men claiming benefits. Men living in social housing are more likely to be housed in high-rise flats. Almost 50% of men aged 16-64 are single, with 2254 lone fathers. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a lack of sex/gender analysis of current cross city data. In areas of deprivation a complex picture of multiple social problems emerges, with marked gender differences in the social determinants of health, with males seeming to be more negatively affected. There is a need for more focused planning for reaching out and targeting boys and men in the most deprived inner city areas, so that greater efficiency in service delivery can be obtained.

Lymphoproliferative responses to dendritic cell presentation of sensitizing allergens in atopic children with multiple allergies.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) proliferate inconsistently, rendering current lymphoproliferation assays unreliable in diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the utility and nature of proliferation responses in allergy by comparison of the standard lymphoproliferation with a new dendritic cell (DC) stimulated assay. METHODS: Monocyte-derived DCs were pulsed with allergens and incubated with autologous T cells for 7 days. DC-stimulated and standard PBMC proliferation responses to 3 common dietary allergens in children with allergy and without atopy were measured by incorporation of tritiated thymidine and reduction of carboxyl fluorescein succinimidyl ester staining. RESULTS: The DC presentation of sensitizing allergens induced significantly higher proliferative responses than PBMC stimulation (P = .04) and greater distinction between normal and allergic responses. DC-induced stimulation indices of children without sensitivity and those with allergy were significantly different with all 3 foods (P < .001). All children with allergy presented with peanut allergy and 12 of 14 (86%) ß-lactoglobulin-pulsed DC preparations proliferated more than 3.3-fold above un-pulsed cells, but 8 of 18 children (44%) with ovalbumin egg allergy showed proliferation below this level. The stimulation index of DC tritiated thymidine incorporation correlated closely with carboxyl fluorescein succinimidyl ester reduction (P < .001). Sensitivity of detection of peanut, milk, or egg allergy was 100%, 85.7%, or 55.6% and specificity was 60%, 88.9%, or 86.7%, respectively. DC-stimulated T cells expressed increased levels of CD45 RO and CD25 and most produced interferon-γ. DC-stimulated proliferation correlated with total immunoglobulin E and peanut antigen-stimulated proliferation correlated with peanut specific immunoglobulin E (P = .03). CONCLUSION: The DC-induced lymphoproliferation had higher sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility than the standard assay and caused increased memory and activated T-cell proliferation in children with food allergy.

'Green' on the ground but not in the air: Pro-environmental attitudes are related to household behaviours but not discretionary air travel.

The rise in greenhouse gas emissions from air travel could be reduced by individuals voluntarily abstaining from, or reducing, flights for leisure and recreational purposes. In theory, we might expect that people with pro-environmental value orientations and concerns about the risks of climate change, and those who engage in more pro-environmental household behaviours, would also be more likely to abstain from such voluntary air travel, or at least to fly less far. Analysis of two large datasets from the United Kingdom, weighted to be representative of the whole population, tested these associations. Using zero-inflated Poisson regression models, we found that, after accounting for potential confounders, there was no association between individuals' environmental attitudes, concern over climate change, or their routine pro-environmental household behaviours, and either their propensity to take non-work related flights, or the distances flown by those who do so. These findings contrasted with those for pro-environmental household behaviours, where associations with environmental attitudes and concern were observed. Our results offer little encouragement for policies aiming to reduce discretionary air travel through pro-environmental advocacy, or through 'spill-over' from interventions to improve environmental impacts of household routines.

WebAL Comes of Age: A Review of the First 21 Years of Artificial Life on the Web.

We present a survey of the first 21 years of web-based artificial life (WebAL) research and applications, broadly construed to include the many different ways in which artificial life and web technologies might intersect. Our survey covers the period from 1994-when the first WebAL work appeared-up to the present day, together with a brief discussion of relevant precursors. We examine recent projects, from 2010-2015, in greater detail in order to highlight the current state of the art. We follow the survey with a discussion of common themes and methodologies that can be observed in recent work and identify a number of likely directions for future work in this exciting area.

Open-Ended Evolution: Perspectives from the OEE Workshop in York.

We describe the content and outcomes of the First Workshop on Open-Ended Evolution: Recent Progress and Future Milestones (OEE1), held during the ECAL 2015 conference at the University of York, UK, in July 2015. We briefly summarize the content of the workshop's talks, and identify the main themes that emerged from the open discussions. Two important conclusions from the discussions are: (1) the idea of pluralism about OEE-it seems clear that there is more than one interesting and important kind of OEE; and (2) the importance of distinguishing observable behavioral hallmarks of systems undergoing OEE from hypothesized underlying mechanisms that explain why a system exhibits those hallmarks. We summarize the different hallmarks and mechanisms discussed during the workshop, and list the specific systems that were highlighted with respect to particular hallmarks and mechanisms. We conclude by identifying some of the most important open research questions about OEE that are apparent in light of the discussions. The York workshop provides a foundation for a follow-up OEE2 workshop taking place at the ALIFE XV conference in Cancún, Mexico, in July 2016. Additional materials from the York workshop, including talk abstracts, presentation slides, and videos of each talk, are available at http://alife.org/ws/oee1 .

The Online Dissemination of Nature-Health Concepts: Lessons from Sentiment Analysis of Social Media Relating to "Nature-Deficit Disorder".

Evidence continues to grow supporting the idea that restorative environments, green exercise, and nature-based activities positively impact human health. Nature-deficit disorder, a journalistic term proposed to describe the ill effects of people's alienation from nature, is not yet formally recognized as a medical diagnosis. However, over the past decade, the phrase has been enthusiastically taken up by some segments of the lay public. Social media, such as Twitter, with its opportunities to gather "big data" related to public opinions, offers a medium for exploring the discourse and dissemination around nature-deficit disorder and other nature-health concepts. In this paper, we report our experience of collecting more than 175,000 tweets, applying sentiment analysis to measure positive, neutral or negative feelings, and preliminarily mapping the impact on dissemination. Sentiment analysis is currently used to investigate the repercussions of events in social networks, scrutinize opinions about products and services, and understand various aspects of the communication in Web-based communities. Based on a comparison of nature-deficit-disorder "hashtags" and more generic nature hashtags, we make recommendations for the better dissemination of public health messages through changes to the framing of messages. We show the potential of Twitter to aid in better understanding the impact of the natural environment on human health and wellbeing.