SynthesisFrontiers in public health2026
Effects of green exercise on mental health in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of green exercise on mental health in older adults. Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials identified 26 studies involving 1,468 older adults. Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models, and risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Additionally, subgroup analyses were conducted to explore potential moderators, including geographic region, comparator condition, and intervention characteristics. Results: The results showed that green exercise significantly improved mental health in older adults compared with indoor exercise [SMD = 0.70, 95% CI (0.44, 0.96)], urban exercise [SMD = 0.79, 95% CI (0.44, 1.15)], and waitlist control conditions [SMD = 0.48, 95% CI (0.14, 0.81)]. Subgroup analyses did not identify significant moderators of the observed effects. Conclusion: Green exercise may be an effective approach for improving mental health in older adults. These findings highlight the importance of environmental context in shaping the mental health benefits of physical activity in later life and support the potential value of green exercise as a strategy for promoting psychological wellbeing in aging populations. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261277519.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.