11.1 childhood exposure to ambient air pollution and the risk of depression in adolescence

Knowledge about early risk factors for MDD is critical to identify those who are at high risk so that we can intervene early to prevent its onset and a lifetime of suffering. Emerging evidence suggests a possible role for air pollution in the etiology of depression. Our study had 2 aims: 1) to extend a recent pilot study that showed links between childhood air pollution exposure and adolescent depression in London to other urban and rural areas of the United Kingdom; and 2) to explore whether including childhood air pollution exposure as an additional predictor in an already-developed UK depression risk prediction model improved the identification of adolescents who are at greatest risk of developing MDD.

Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - October 1, 2020 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Rachel M. Latham, Christian Kieling, Louise Arseneault, Thiago B.M. Rocha, Andrew Beddows, Sean D. Beevers, Kathryn De Oliveira, Terrie Moffitt, Aaron Reuben, Helen L. Fisher Tags: Developmental Psychopathology Source Type: research