Prolonged Air Pollution Exposure Increases Risk Of Depression: Study

Islamabad: Long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution increases the likelihood of late-onset depression among the elderly, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

In another study published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers discovered that prolonged exposure to even low levels of air pollutants was associated with increased incidence of depression and anxiety. Air pollution has long been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

The latest research adds to a growing body of proof that air pollution has an impact on mental health as well. Researchers from Harvard and Emory University looked at information on over nine million beneficiaries of Medicare, the US government’s health insurance programme for persons over 64, to investigate the effects of air pollution on older Americans.

According to Medicare claims, more over 1.52 million of them had depression diagnoses from 2005 to 2016 as part of the study. “We observed statistically significant negative correlations between prolonged exposure to high levels of air pollution and a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with late-life depression,” the researchers added.

According to this study, people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged have a substantially higher risk of developing late-life depression. They experience both social stress and unfavourable environmental conditions, such as air pollution, at the same time.

In order to conduct the study, the researchers mapped pollution levels and contrasted them with Medicare patients’ addresses. Fine particulate matter, such as dust or smoke, nitrogen dioxide, which is mostly produced by traffic emissions, and ozone, which is released by vehicles, power plants, and refineries, are the pollutants to which they are exposed.

The elderly may be especially vulnerable to sadness associated with pollution because of their pulmonary and brain fragility. “Although depression is less common in older persons than in the younger population, it can have major side effects, such as cognitive impairment, concomitant physical illness, and death,” the US-based researchers stated.

In the other study, scientists from China and Britain looked into the relationship between chronic exposure to various air contaminants and the prevalence of depression and anxiety. Over the course of 11 years, they analysed a group of approximately 390,000 people, the majority of whom were residents of Britain, and discovered that even at pollution levels below the UK’s air quality guidelines, there is an increased risk for sadness and anxiety.

Other studies have found that exposure to air pollution may affect the central nervous system, causing inflammation and damaging the body’s cells.

Some air pollution, studies show, can also cause the body to release harmful substances that can hurt the blood-brain barrier, the network of blood vessels and tissues made up of closely spaced cells that protect the brain, and that may lead to depression and anxiety.

Because aging can impair the immune response, older adults may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of air pollution. More research will be needed to fully understand these connections, as the neural basis for depression is not completely understood. Agencies