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Air pollution can be as harmful to the mind as it is to the human body. The researchers found that psychotic experiences usually occur in adolescents who live in polluted urban areas. ( Ian Montgomery | pixabay )
It has long been known that polluted air is harmful to the human body and that it causes heart and lung problems and aggravates asthma.
Air pollution is actually one of the leading causes of death in the world, making millions of deaths a year.
The results of new research now suggest that dirty air is as bad for the mind as it is for the body. Researcher Helen Fisher of King & # 39; s College London and her colleagues found that psychotic experiences tended to be more common among teens living in the most polluted areas.
Psychotic experiences
Psychotic experiences are less extreme forms of symptoms experienced by people with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. These are characterized by hearing or seeing something that others do not see.
Psychotic experiences are more common in adolescence than in adulthood. However, young people with psychotic experiences are more likely to develop psychotic disorders, suicidal behavior and various other mental health problems.
Fisher and his colleagues found that psychotic experiences are common among adolescents exposed to the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and very small particles ( PM2.5), even after taking into account risk factors for psychosis.
NO2 and NOx together accounted for 60% of the link between urban living and psychotic experiences.
"In this study, exposure to air pollution, particularly NO2 and NOx, was badociated with an increased likelihood of psychotic experiences in adolescents, which partly explained the badociation between city living and psychotic experiences in adolescents, "wrote Fisher and their colleagues.
Atmospheric pollution and mental illness
The study did not prove a causal badociation, but nevertheless suggests a possible link between pollution and psychosis. This is not the first study to suggest a potential badociation between air quality and mental health.
An earlier study published in BMJ Open also found a link between a relatively small increase in air pollution and an increase in mental illness in children.
The results were published in JAMA Psychiatry March 27th.
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