Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental risks we face today. Conditions have worsened daily. Not only does it affect our health, but in the longer run it contributes to the increasing climate change and extreme weather patterns. The wider implications of air pollution are well-researched such as the risk of respiratory diseases, infections, and complications such as asthma and bronchitis.
Simultaneously, the simple act of reducing air pollutants would save us from climate change, and health complications. Recent studies however show implications of air pollution contributing to deteriorating mental health as well.
Air pollution as we know it
Air pollution is the contamination of the air around us by pollutants or elements that are detrimental to our health and the planet. As known, there are 2 types- Indoor and Outdoor. Wherein, the primary difference remains the sources of pollution. Air pollution directly harms the respiratory system. Common sensations which people have reported consist of burning eyes, cough, difficulty in breathing, and feeling tight in the chest to name some. Air pollutants have been known to contribute to serious complications like pneumonia to heart diseases in extreme cases.
However, recent studies show an impact on mental health as well. Breathing polluted air can also affect our mental health as both outdoor and indoor air pollution have been linked to conditions like depression, anxiety, and even serious mental health issues such as schizophrenia. Physiological discomforts caused by air pollution often lead to irritation, frustration, sadness, anger, sense of weakness which lower the individual’s mental state. Overall, chronically ill people experience the added financial burden. They may be often instructed to visit several doctors for their ailments but a mental health specialist is rarely part of their medical plan.
Air pollution and mental health
Common symptoms exhibited by respiratory patients often include cough, chest tightness, fatigue, agitation, chest or abdominal pain, and increased pulse rate. Over a while these symptoms affect the overall well-being of the individual, impairing their social, physical, and psychological health.
In a study published by the Journal of Health and Pollution, researchers conducted to study to understand the Association of Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollution with Depression in Patients with Asthma in Delhi. The findings were based on 151 patients with diagnosed asthma from two sites in Delhi aged between 18-65 years old. The study showed that 58.3 per cent exhibited depression, and 73.5 per cent had uncontrolled asthma. It was also observed Asthma control significantly mediated 24.97 per cent and 25.84 per cent of the association of NO2 and SO2 exposure, respectively, with depression status.
A separate article by the American Psychiatric Association also observed that “The researchers found that 73 per cent of the studies reported higher mental health symptoms and behaviours in humans and animals after exposure to higher-than-average levels of air pollution.” The lead author of the study, in a separate report for the World Economic Forum, shed light on the fact that 95 per cent of the studies examining brain effects discovered significant physical and functional changes within the emotion-regulation brain regions in those exposed to increased levels of air pollution.
ETV Bharat as well, in a conversation with other studies showed increased inflammation and changes to the regulation of neurotransmitters caused due to exposure to increased levels of air pollution.
The importance of addressing this issue for overall well-being
There are still not sufficient studies on the relationship between pollution and mental health and how they correlate, but to the best of our knowledge, pollution does play a role. The recent studies show a step ahead in understanding the implications of air pollution in a well-rounded manner but there are still gaps within these researches which need to be covered to gain a better understanding and be effectively able to mitigate these problems.
While studies based on children and adolescents do acknowledge the cognitive and mental impact of air pollution, better research is needed to grasp the influence on mental health. This may be necessary also to comprehend the implications of harm caused in early life by these pollutants, and the relations of specific pollutants with parts of the brain.
The importance of providing mental health with the same attention in research and understanding the contributing effect of any physiological disease could bridge gaps in understanding the human mind and body better and effectively address health.
