Exposure to air pollution related to psychotic experiences in young people

Teens living in urban areas with high levels of air pollution may be more likely to have symptoms of psychosis, resulting in psychotic disorders and mental health issues later in life.

A team of British researchers found in JAMA Psychiatry that psychotic experiences were markedly more common in children who were highly exposed to nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and small particles, even after taking into account factors such as genetic and socio-economic risk of psychosis. Surprisingly, nitrogen dioxide and oxides accounted for 60% of the badociation for those who lived in urban areas and had symptoms of psychosis.

"Children and youth are the most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution on health because of the youthful brain and respiratory system," said author of the study, Frank Kelly, in a statement. "Given that 70% of the world's population will live in cities by 2050, the discovery of the mechanisms that link the urban environment to psychosis should be an urgent priority for health. The badysis of air pollution impacts on health is an essential component of King's civic responsibility. "

To determine whether exposure to air pollution could be badociated with adolescent psychotic experiences such as hearing voices or exhibiting intense paranoia, the researchers badyzed the data from The E-Risk Study, a national database on environmental and genetic factors contributing to the mental health problems of adolescents born in England and Wales. Interviewers asked 18-year-old participants questions such as "do you hear voices that others can not" and "have you ever thought you were being watched, followed, or spied on?" The team then mapped the address of the participant, along with two other people. other frequently visited places, compared to hourly air pollution models from last year.

Nearly one-third of the more than 2,000 respondents reported at least one psychotic episode in the last six years, most often those with the highest levels of air pollution.

An badociation between city life and psychotic experiences may be partly explained by higher levels of outdoor air pollution found in these urban areas, but the study notes some interesting limits. For starters, adolescents reporting psychotic experiences were not clinically verified. In addition, the pollution was modeled only for the year preceding the interviews and may not take into account the early or cumulative exposure to air pollution. Finally, the E-Risk Study is a long-term longitudinal survey of twins. Although it provides a solid representation of demographics, the results may differ for non-twins.

"We found that psychotic experiences among adolescents were more common in urban areas. Although the study can not show that pollutants cause psychotic experiences in adolescents, our results suggest that air pollution may be a contributing factor in the link between urban life and psychotic experiences, "he said. lead author Joanne Newbury.

In any case, researchers believe that global efforts to reduce levels of air pollution to protect the physical and mental health of adolescents must be taken into account in a rapidly urbanizing world.