Air pollution is a risk to mental health
Well-being — di Elisabetta Scuri
If the air is unbreathable, mental health disorders risk worsening. This is what British researchers are revealing, as they call on governments to act.
Air pollution is a risk to mental health
If the air is unbreathable, mental health disorders risk worsening. This is what British researchers are revealing, as they call on governments to act.
Exposure to air pollution can worsen mental health disorders. This is the conclusion reached by a group of British researchers who conducted a study – the most in-depth on the subject to date – on 13,000 London patients.
The research, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, highlights how a relatively modest increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide (equal to 15 µg/m³) raised by 32 per cent the risk of requiring therapy and by 18 per cent the risk of hospitalisation. Nitrogen dioxide is the gas emitted by diesel vehicles, but similar results were also observed in the case of fine particulate matter.
It is well known that air pollutants have powerful inflammatory properties, and inflammation is believed to be a trigger for psychotic and mood disorders; for this reason the researchers agree in stating that the link is "biologically plausible", and can also be observed years after the patient's first course of treatment. Factors such as age, sex, ethnicity or population density do not play the same role, however.
Air pollution linked to more severe mental illness – study
- Exclusive: Mental health problems cause serious suffering and finding risk factors that can be tackled is vital, say scientists
#AirPollution
story by me
theguardian.com/environment/20…
- Exclusive: Mental health problems cause serious suffering and finding risk factors that can be tackled is vital, say scientists
#AirPollution
story by me
theguardian.com/environment/20…
Reducing pollution is essential to save lives
According to the authors, the study's findings apply to the majority of cities in developed countries. Reducing pollution, even by a small amount, would bring great benefits for "millions of people", as well as cutting the cost of care. Other studies have analysed the risks that exposure to fine particulate matter poses to the human body. An Italian study, for example, demonstrated that it increases the likelihood of suffering a cardiac arrest.
All organs are at risk, according to a 2019 international study. Understanding what effects pollution can also have on mood – as the British scientists discussed in this article have done, and others besides – proves to be important. It would appear to be yet further evidence of the fact that our health depends on the health of the environment in which we live. Mental health included. In short, the wounds of our planet make us suffer, even if not everyone wants to admit it.