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A study published today to evidence that air pollution may be linked to mental health conditions. But it’s not clear yet how – and if – pollution may be affecting our brains. Analysing data from 151 million people in the US and 1.4 million people in Denmark, researchers have found that there is a strong between poor air quality and higher rates of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders and major depression. This suggests there is a link, but not necessarily that pollution is causing these conditions.
When the team looked at health insurance claims in the US, they found that the strongest of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder – after ethnicity – was air quality. Previous studies have a correlation in the UK between polluted areas and teenagers reporting psychotic experiences and local air pollution and psychiatric disorders in Swedish children.