The association between greenery type and gut microbiome in schizophrenia: did all greenspaces play the equivalent role?

In recent years, attention has been focused on the benefit of greenspace on mental health, and it is suggested this link may vary with the type of greenspace. More and more studies have emphasized the influence of the gut microbiome on schizophrenia (SCZ). However, the effects of greenspaces on the gut microbiota in SCZ and the effect of different types of greenspaces on the gut microbiota remain unclear. We aim to examine if there were variations in the effects of various greenspace types on the gut microbiome in SCZ. Besides, we sink to explore important taxonomic compositions associated with different greenspace types. We recruited 243 objects with schizophrenia from Anhui Mental Health Center and collected fecal samples for 16Sr RNA gene sequencing. Three types of greenery coverage were calculated with different circular buffers (800, 1500, and 3000 m) corresponding to individual addresses. The association between greenspace and microbiome composition was analyzed with permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). We conducted the linear regression to capture specific gut microbiome taxa associated with greenery coverage. Tree coverage was consistently associated with microbial composition in both 1500 m (R-2 = 0.007, P = 0.030) and 3000 m (R-2 = 0.007, P = 0.039). In contrast, there was no association with grass cover in any of the buffer zones. In the regression analysis, higher tree coverage was significantly correlated with the relative abundance of several taxa. Among them, tree coverage was positively associated with increased Bifidobacterium longum (beta = 1.069, P = 0.004), which was the dominant composition in the gut microbiota. The relationship between greenspace and gut microbiome in SCZ differed by the type of greenspace. Besides, tree coverage may present a dominant effect on the important taxonomic composition. Our findings might provide instructive evidence for the design of urban greenspace to optimize health and well-being in SCZ as well as the whole people.

Automated summary

Recent attention has been focused on the benefit of greenspace on mental health, as well as the influence of the gut microbiome on schizophrenia. This study aims to examine the variations in the effects of different greenspace types on the gut microbiome in schizophrenia. The findings suggest that tree coverage may have a dominant effect on important taxonomic composition.