Does nature make us less lonely? : analysis in Bulgaria's five largest cities

2025
journal article
article
1
dc.abstract.enBackground: Loneliness is prevalent and increases risks of disease and premature death. We aimed to investigate whether greater exposure to nature is associated with less loneliness in urban Bulgarian adults, and whether the association was modified by sociodemographic factors. Methods: The analytic sample comprised 3604 adults from a cross-sectional population-based survey conducted in 2023 in the five largest Bulgarian cities. Loneliness was self-reported with a single item on a seven-point Likert scale. Availability of nature was assessed by several GIS-derived indicators: normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), tree cover density, urban green space, all in a 300 m buffer around home, and distance to blue space. Self-reported nature indicators included domestic garden, green space and blue space quality, green space and blue space window view, and time spent in green and blue space. Adjusted negative binomial regressions with random intercept for city district were used to assess associations with loneliness. We further checked effect modification by city type, sex, age, relationship, employment status and education. Results: Residing in areas with more urban green space, higher green space quality, and green space window view and spending more time in green and blue space were associated with lower loneliness scores. Living in low or high compared to medium level NDVI settings or in areas with higher tree cover density was associated with higher loneliness scores. Sociodemographic factors modified some of these associations. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of extending and improving structured urban green spaces in Bulgarian cities.
dc.affiliationWydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorMarkevych, Iana - 423962
dc.contributor.authorBaumbach, Clemens - 456864
dc.contributor.authorHelbich, Marco
dc.contributor.authorBurov, Angel
dc.contributor.authorDimitrova, Donka
dc.contributor.authorNieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.
dc.contributor.authorDzhambov, Angel M.
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-30T12:11:56Z
dc.date.available2025-07-30T12:11:56Z
dc.date.createdat2025-07-17T17:26:30Zen
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.openaccess0
dc.description.accesstimew momencie opublikowania
dc.description.versionostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume95
dc.identifier.articleid103509
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103509
dc.identifier.issn1353-8292
dc.identifier.projectDRC AI
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/558495
dc.languageeng
dc.language.containereng
dc.rightsUdzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licenceCC-BY
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.typeotwarte czasopismo
dc.subject.enloneliness
dc.subject.ensocial isolation
dc.subject.enbluespace
dc.subject.engreenspace
dc.subject.enepidemiology
dc.subtypeArticle
dc.titleDoes nature make us less lonely? : analysis in Bulgaria's five largest cities
dc.title.journalHealth and Place
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublicationen
dc.abstract.en
Background: Loneliness is prevalent and increases risks of disease and premature death. We aimed to investigate whether greater exposure to nature is associated with less loneliness in urban Bulgarian adults, and whether the association was modified by sociodemographic factors. Methods: The analytic sample comprised 3604 adults from a cross-sectional population-based survey conducted in 2023 in the five largest Bulgarian cities. Loneliness was self-reported with a single item on a seven-point Likert scale. Availability of nature was assessed by several GIS-derived indicators: normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), tree cover density, urban green space, all in a 300 m buffer around home, and distance to blue space. Self-reported nature indicators included domestic garden, green space and blue space quality, green space and blue space window view, and time spent in green and blue space. Adjusted negative binomial regressions with random intercept for city district were used to assess associations with loneliness. We further checked effect modification by city type, sex, age, relationship, employment status and education. Results: Residing in areas with more urban green space, higher green space quality, and green space window view and spending more time in green and blue space were associated with lower loneliness scores. Living in low or high compared to medium level NDVI settings or in areas with higher tree cover density was associated with higher loneliness scores. Sociodemographic factors modified some of these associations. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of extending and improving structured urban green spaces in Bulgarian cities.
dc.affiliation
Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.author
Markevych, Iana - 423962
dc.contributor.author
Baumbach, Clemens - 456864
dc.contributor.author
Helbich, Marco
dc.contributor.author
Burov, Angel
dc.contributor.author
Dimitrova, Donka
dc.contributor.author
Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.
dc.contributor.author
Dzhambov, Angel M.
dc.date.accessioned
2025-07-30T12:11:56Z
dc.date.available
2025-07-30T12:11:56Z
dc.date.createdaten
2025-07-17T17:26:30Z
dc.date.issued
2025
dc.date.openaccess
0
dc.description.accesstime
w momencie opublikowania
dc.description.version
ostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume
95
dc.identifier.articleid
103509
dc.identifier.doi
10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103509
dc.identifier.issn
1353-8292
dc.identifier.project
DRC AI
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/558495
dc.language
eng
dc.language.container
eng
dc.rights
Udzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licence
CC-BY
dc.rights.uri
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.type
otwarte czasopismo
dc.subject.en
loneliness
dc.subject.en
social isolation
dc.subject.en
bluespace
dc.subject.en
greenspace
dc.subject.en
epidemiology
dc.subtype
Article
dc.title
Does nature make us less lonely? : analysis in Bulgaria's five largest cities
dc.title.journal
Health and Place
dc.type
JournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeen
Publication
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