Air Pollution Increases the Risk of Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Even Schizophrenia

Could the environment be the reason for increased levels of psychological diseases? Research shows that air pollution increases, for example, the risk of depression.

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With every breath, we breathe in oxygen. But also a lot of other stuff. Some of it is harmless and is naturally occurring like nitrogen. But some of them are harmful like dust particles, ozone or sulfur dioxide. The harmful particles enter our bodies and can cause many problems. Especially breathing and blood circulation problems.

At least this is what a study that was published in the journal PLOS Biology and is based on research performed at the University of Chicago that was done in the USA and Denmark. It claims that bad air quality led to a roughly 29 % increase in the rates of bipolar disorder. The rates for depression and schizophrenia differed between the countries but the authors claim it's because of different data sets.

While the correlation between air quality and psychological problems was painfully obvious it was less striking in the USA. The scientists compared data about the residents of the least and most polluted areas. The conclusion was that there was a 6 % higher occurrence of depression and a 27 % occurrence of bipolar disorder.

The study also found that if you are exposed to air pollution in early age then the risk of you having schizophrenia is 148% higher, 50% higher for depression and 162% higher to have a personality disorder. The researchers say that this is clear evidence that the environment affects the psychological health of the citizens.

Even though these findings still need to be verified and analyzed the authors think that there are a few different ways how the pollutants can affect the brain. The most basic way is direct inhalation from the nose straight into the brain. But there are different indirect ways like if they pollutants can first get into the lungs or the stomach.

Sources:

• https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000353

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