The most comprehensive study of its kind has found that exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for mental illness.
The study of more than 200,000 people in Scotland found that increased exposure to nitrogen dioxide in particular was associated with more people being admitted to hospital with behavioral disorders and mental illness.
Previously published studies on the health effects of long-term exposure to air pollution tended to emphasize death rather than hospitalization and poor physical health rather than mental health, the researchers said.
the study found that air pollution was associated with increased risk of hospitalization for mental health as well as physical illness.
Researchers said stricter environmental regulations would benefit millions of people and limit the impact on secondary healthcare.
Dr Mary Abed Al-Ahad, from the University of St Andrews, who led the study, said that policies to tackle air pollution and transition to renewable energy could have a long-term impact on hospitals for people with physical and mental illnesses. He said it could help reduce the burden on people.
“Policies and interventions that target air pollution emissions, such as zero-emission zones and incentives for renewable energy in the transportation and energy production sectors, will reduce the burden on hospital care in the long term, both locally and globally. It may help.”
Analysis of data tracked from Public Health Scotland looked at the impact of four major pollutants and air pollution from 2002 to 2017.
The researchers used individual-level data from the Scottish Longitudinal Survey, which represents 5% of the Scottish population, and includes demographic information from the relevant census.
A total of 202,237 people aged 17 and older participated in the survey. Published in open access journal BMJ Open.
Their health status and hospitalizations for cardiovascular, respiratory, infectious, mental or behavioral disorders were tracked from Public Health Scotland data.
They were associated with levels of four pollutants from road traffic and industry.2); sulfur dioxide (SO2); particulate matter diameter of at least 10 μm (PM10); Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) less than 2.5μm per 1km2 The postal code of each person’s residence.
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Average cumulative exposure to air pollution was strongly associated with increased hospitalization rates for both mental and physical disorders. High cumulative exposure to NO2PM10, and PM2.5 were associated with higher incidence of hospitalization for all causes.
Ioannis Bakolis, professor of public mental health and statistics at King’s College London, who was not involved in the study, said the “large scale” data had been “properly analyzed” and that air pollution was linked to mental health. provided further evidence of the link between
Previous research has shown that people who spend their childhoods in areas with high levels of air pollution are more likely to develop mental disorders later in life.
However, a study by researchers in the United States and Denmark suggests a link between air pollution and an increased risk of mental health problems such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and personality disorders.
Between 1% and 2% of the UK population will suffer from bipolar disorder at some point in their lives, with a similar figure for schizophrenia. It is estimated that Approximately 5% of British people Always has a personality disorder.
