Long-term breathing of polluted air carries an increased risk of depression, according to two new studies, adding to mounting evidence of the deleterious effects of pollution on mental health.
Source: AFP
The first research, published last week in JAMA psychiatry, it followed around 390,000 people for eleven years in the UK. The levels of contamination to which they were exposed were estimated according to the location of their residence.
The researchers studied the rates of fine particles (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO), pollution caused in part by fossil fuel power plants and vehicular traffic.
“Long-term exposure to multiple pollutants was associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety,” the scientists concluded.
The observed risk is non-linear, that is, grows strongly above a relatively low concentration level, And then it tends to stagnate.
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“Knowing that many countries’ air quality standards still far exceed the most recent 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, stricter pollution standards or regulations should be established,” the study authors wrote. .
The second study, published Friday in the JAMA Network Open journal, focused on the effect of fine particles (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) in people over 64 years of age.
The goal was study the consequences of air pollution on the development of a late depression.
These works used a database of Medicare, the public health insurance reserved for the elderly in the United States, and studied a population of about 8.9 million people, of whom 1.5 suffer from depression.
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The results showed again a strong association between pollution and depression, in particular when looking at the flows of fine particles and nitrogen dioxide for disadvantaged populations.
This association could be explained by the relationship observed between high concentrations of pollutants and inflammation in the brain, according to the two studies.
This work “adds to the growing body of evidence that we should be concerned about the effects of pollution on mental health,” said Oliver Robinson, professor of neurosciences and mental health at University College London, who was not involved in the studies. research.
