Garden rehabilitation stabilises INF-gamma and IL-2 levels but does not relieve depressive-symptoms

Introduction: Based on theories on the impact of an enriched environment on stress regulation, we conducted a small-scale study on psychiatric patients to examine the effect of add-on garden rehabilitation on illness and inflammatory state. Materials and methods: Patients suffering from a moodor an anxiety disorder were recruited while hospitalized, or from an outpatient psychiatric facility. Before entering the study, they were randomized to participate in an 8-week garden rehabilitation and treatment as usual (TAU) or to TAU only. Before start of the study, after 4 weeks and 8 weeks all patients were subjected to blood sampling. Their psychopathology was rated according to the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale, from which e.g. the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was retrieved. Levels of inflammatory factors in blood plasma were measured using high sensitivity photon-emission based ELISA (Mesoscale). Results: At baseline and before randomization, there was no significant difference in inflammatory factors between rehabilitation patients and TAU controls when controlling for ECT, age and sex neither were any differences in plasma levels found between diagnostic groups. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that the MADRS scores, as well as the levels of interleukin (IL)-6, decreased sig