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Exposure to air pollution is associated with increased severity of mental illnesses, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.
The study, which involved 13,000 people in London, found that a relatively small increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide resulted in a 32% increase in the risk of requiring community treatment and an 18% increase in risk of hospitalization.
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The researchers said the findings would likely apply to most cities in developed countries and that the reduction in air pollution could benefit millions of people.
Joanne Newbery, University of Bristol, who led the study, explained: “Air pollution can be changed, and also on a large scale, by reducing exposure at the population level. We know there are interventions that can be used, such as expanding low emission zones. And mental health interventions at the individual level. It is actually very difficult. “
The study used the frequency of hospital admissions or visits to doctors and nurses as a measure of severity. Researchers calculated that a small reduction in a single pollutant could reduce disease and prevent tens of millions of hospitalizations each year.
Ioannis Bakoulis, of King’s College London, who was part of the research team, said air pollution levels in London had declined in recent years, but there was no safe level . “Even at low levels of air pollution, you can see this kind of effect, which is very important,” he added.
Recent research has shown that small increases in air pollution are linked to significant increases in depression and anxiety. He also linked polluted air to an increase in suicides and said growing up in polluted places increases the risk of mental disorders.
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Other research has shown that air pollution causes a “massive” decrease in intelligence and is linked to dementia. A global review in 2019 concluded that air pollution can harm all organs in the human body.
The new study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, followed patients in south London from their first contact with mental health services and used high-precision estimates of air pollution in their homes.
The average seasonal levels of nitrogen dioxide in the study area ranged from 18 to 96 micrograms per cubic meter. They found that people exposed to 15 mcg / m3 of contamination had an 18% higher risk of being hospitalized and a 32% higher risk of requiring outpatient treatment a year later.
The link was strongest for nitrogen dioxide, which is widely emitted by diesel vehicles, but was also important for small particle pollution, which results from the combustion of all fossil fuels. Three units had a risk of hospitalization of 11% and a risk of outpatient treatment of 7%.
Scientists reassessed patient data seven years after the first treatment and found that the link to air pollution was still clear. The results were not explained by a range of other possible factors, including age, sex, race, deprivation or population density, although unspecified factors may still play an important role.
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“Identifying modifiable risk factors for disease severity and relapse could guide early intervention efforts and reduce the human suffering and significant economic costs associated with chronic mental illness in the long term,” the researchers said. .
The study was not designed to prove a causal link between air pollution and the severity of mental illness, which would require difficult experimental work. The researchers said the link was “biologically plausible” because air pollutants are known to have strong inflammatory properties and inflammation is believed to be a factor in mood and psychotic disorders.
The World Bank has estimated that air pollution costs the global economy $ 5,000 billion a year, but that only includes known damage to the heart and lungs.
“Cost estimates at the moment only affect physical health, but we are seeing more studies that show links to mental health,” Newbury said. “We think it might be important to include them because they can tip the scales and show that investing in air pollution reduction pays off.”
Source: The Guardian
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