The UofL study is believed to be the first to connect biomarkers for chronic disease risk to factors such as stress, employee capacity for work assigned, workplace physical and social environment and whether we see our work as meaningful. The findings are published in the��.

These factors are part of a new concept the UofL researchers have coined which they hope will become a model for both employers and employees to better understand the health impacts of workplace culture.

“For a long time, we’ve assumed that workplace culture can impact our health,” said Brad Shuck, an author on the study and organizational culture researcher in UofL’s . “This study shows, in biological terms, that assumption is true and improving our understanding of these links could help both employees and employers make better, more informed decisions that keep everyone healthy and happy in their work����Ա������DzԳ���Գٲ�.”

In the study, Shuck and�� researchers Kandi Walker, Joy Hart and Rachel Keith asked participants to complete questionnaires on their well-being and work determinants of health factors, such as how engaged and positive or negative they felt about their work environment. Walker and Hart hold faculty appointments in the College of Arts & Sciences and Keith is a faculty member in the School of Medicine.

In the first study, UofL researchers Aruni Bhatnagar, professor of medicine and director of the Envirome Institute, Ray Yeager and Daniel Riggs, with Carver Coleman and Arden Pope of Brigham Young University and others, analyzed retrospective data from more than 5.5 million cancer patients and survivors from 2003 to 2016. They found that cancer patients in greener counties lived longer than those in counties with less greenness. The protective effects of greenness against cancer mortality were seen with both males and females and individuals of all ages, but were more pronounced at urban locations. Individuals with cancers that were highly survivable – such as breast, prostate and skin cancer – benefitted more from greenness than those with cancers with low survival rates such as brain, esophageal, liver, lung and pancreatic cancer. ����

The study, “,” published in the journal Environment International, evaluated associations between greenness and fine particulate matter in the air on causes of death in a large group of cancer patients and survivors in the United States.

“This is the largest study of the relationship between greenness and cancer mortality, and it provides clear evidence that living in green areas is beneficial to cancer patients,” said Bhatnagar “However, we do not yet understand why greenness protects against cancer mortality. Much more remains to be done to see whether greenness benefits cancer patients by lowering mental stress and anxiety or by reducing the levels of air pollutants or whether some other mechanisms are at play.”

The study also found that cardiopulmonary disease, but not cancer, was associated with higher levels of fine particulate air pollution. Mortality from cardiopulmonary causes – stroke, heart attack or COPD – was not affected by county greenness, except in rural locations.����

Greenness and depression

A second study, led by Kandi Walker and Joy Hart, professors in the UofL Department of Communication, Bhatnagar and other researchers in the Envirome Institute, found that people’s satisfaction with levels of greenness in their neighborhood was associated with lower levels of self-reported depressive symptoms. ��

The researchers surveyed participants about their perceptions of greenness in their neighborhoods and their mental health symptoms and found that those who were more satisfied with the greenness surrounding their homes also reported lower depression symptoms on a health survey, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

The 44.5% of survey participants who reported they were satisfied with the level of greenness in their neighborhood collectively scored better on the health questionnaire for depression.

“Given the pervasiveness of depression in the U.S. population, any changes that can reduce depression are essential, particularly those that can affect a large number of people,” Hart said. “The findings of this study suggest that greening interventions that focus on greenness satisfaction may be a strategy to reduce depression in urban populations.”

The study, “,” was published in July in the journal Population Medicine.

South Louisville study participants needed

Participants in the greening satisfaction study were part of the Health, Environment and Action in Louisville (HEAL) study of the Great Heart Project, which is an ongoing assessment of the effects of neighborhood greenness on individual health. Additional participants are needed for the HEAL Study by the end of September. More information is available on the website.

“Together, these studies add weight to the importance of trees, shrubs and other vegetation in urban areas in benefitting and nurturing human health. Accumulation of such evidence strengthens the case that increasing greenness in urban locations can decrease the high rates of non-communicable diseases in cities,” Bhatnagar said. “And since greenness improves health in general, it may also be effective against infectious disease.”