Air pollution and mental health: associations, mechanisms and methods

This article reviews developments in the field over the past 12 months, highlighting the evidence for causation, associations between multiple air pollutants and mental health outcomes, and assesses the challenges of researching this topic. Recent findings Increasingly rigorous methods are being applied to the investigation of a broader range of mental health outcomes. These methods include basic science, neuroimaging, and observational studies representing diverse geographical locations. Cohort studies with linked high-resolution air pollutant exposure data are common, facilitating advanced analytic methods. To date, meta-analyses have demonstrated small and significant positive associations between long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and depressive symptoms and cognitive decline. Methodological complexities in measuring exposure and outcome pose ongoing difficulties for the field. Summary Literature on this topic has recently seen an appreciable expansion. Work that better estimates daily exposure, controls for complex confounders, and is driven by hypotheses founded in candidate causal mechanisms would help clarify associations, and inform targeted interventions and policymakers.
Source: Current Opinion in Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Tags: THE IMPACT OF URBANISATION ON MENTAL HEALTH: Edited by Jair Mari Source Type: research