The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

Urban living is often characterized by a hectic pace. This causes a great deal of pressure resulting in stress. One-third of Americans are reportedly living with extreme stress, with 75% to 90% of visits to primary care physicians being for stress-related problems. It is known that green areas have positive physiological impacts on human health. Past research found that visiting green areas lowers blood pressure, reduces headache and fatigue, improves mood and hastens recovery from stress. The main objective for this study was to determine if stress-related illness rates in regions of Texas were related to vegetation and tree cover. Stress-related illness data was collected from the Center for Health Statistics and the Texas Department of State Health Services. The stress-related illnesses for each Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) were mapped and inserted into a corresponding vegetation map for each MSA using a geographical mapping software. Researchers looked for visual relationships among data.  Quantitative data was also analyzed using PASW. The study compared vegetation rates and stress-related illness rates in metropolitan areas to observe whether vegetation and tree cover were related to higher or lower incidences of stress-related illnesses rates.  Results will be used to evaluate the value of green spaces and the urban forest in city areas.