Environmental pollution and extreme weather conditions: insights into the effect on mental health

Our plain-English summary of Environmental pollution and extreme weather conditions: insights into the effect on mental health, by M. Tota, J. Karska, S. Kowalski, et al (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2024).

The study

• Authors: M. Tota, J. Karska, S. Kowalski, N. Piątek, M. Pszczołowska, K. Mazur, P. Piotrowski
• Journal: Frontiers in Psychiatry
• Published: 2024;15:1389051
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 19 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Environmental pollution exposures, including air, soil, water, light, and noise pollution, are critical issues that may implicate adverse mental health outcomes. Extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and droughts, may also cause long-term severe concerns. However, the knowledge about possible psychiatric disorders associated with these exposures is currently not well disseminated. In this review, we aim to summarize the current knowledge on the impact of environmental pollution and extreme weather conditions on mental health, focusing on anxiety spectrum disorders, autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and depression. In air pollution studies, increased concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 were the most strongly associated with the exacerbation of anxiety, schizophrenia, and depression symptoms. We provide an overview of the suggested underlying pathomechanisms involved. We highlight that the pathogenesis of environmental pollution-related diseases is multifactorial, including increased oxidative stress, systematic inflammation, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, and epigenetic dysregulation. Light pollution and noise pollution were correlated with an increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, the impact of soil and water pollution is discussed. Such compounds as crude oil, heavy metals, natural gas, agro-chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers), polycyclic or polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), solvents, lead (Pb), and asbestos were associated with detrimental impact on mental health. Extreme weather conditions were linked to depression and anxiety spectrum disorders, namely PTSD. Several policy recommendations and awareness campaigns should be implemented, advocating for the advancement of high-quality urbanization, the mitigation of environmental pollution, and, consequently, the enhancement of residents' mental health.

Copyright © 2024 Tota, Karska, Kowalski, Piątek, Pszczołowska, Mazur and Piotrowski.

In plain English

This article was a narrative review, not a new study. The authors searched MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science for English-language human studies published before 10 November 2023. Their search terms paired air, noise and light pollution, heavy metals and fertilisers with disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and autism. The review also discussed soil and water pollution and extreme weather, focusing on anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia and depression. In the air pollution studies reviewed, higher PM2.5, NO2 and SO2 levels were most strongly associated with worse anxiety, schizophrenia and depression symptoms. Asbestos came up only briefly, as one of several soil contaminants. Citing a single earlier study, the review stated that asbestos poisoning leads to depression, anxiety and psychoticism, and may lead to somatization, paranoid ideation or hostility. The review gave no fiber types, exposure details or numbers for asbestos. The authors concluded that the harmful effect of air pollutants on mental health is multifactorial. They called for policy recommendations and awareness campaigns. They noted that the reviewed studies used differing methods, which prevented a meta-analysis, and carried risks of selection and measurement bias.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of published literature. The database search terms paired air pollution, noise pollution, heavy metals, fertilisers and light pollution with specific disorders.
• Who was studied: Published original research and review articles on humans, in English, found in MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science up to 10 November 2023
• Exposure: Air, soil, water, light and noise pollution and extreme weather events. Asbestos was listed among soil contaminants, with no fiber type named.
• Main results:
  • Citing one earlier study (reference 129), the review stated that asbestos poisoning leads to depression, anxiety and psychoticism, and may lead to somatization, paranoid ideation or hostility. No numbers or study population were given.
  • Across the reviewed air pollution studies, increased PM2.5, NO2 and SO2 concentrations were most strongly associated with worse anxiety, schizophrenia and depression symptoms.
  • Light and noise pollution were correlated with increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer's disease.
  • Extreme weather conditions were linked to depression and anxiety spectrum disorders, namely PTSD.
  • The authors stated that policy recommendations and awareness campaigns should be implemented.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the detrimental effect of air pollutants on mental health is multifactorial.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The methods, scales and end-points of the reviewed studies differed, so no meta-analysis could be done and the work is a narrative review.
  • Most reviewed studies came from single countries or regions or from selected populations, raising the risk of selection bias.
  • Some reviewed studies could not measure specific pollutants, suggesting possible measurement bias.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Oxidative Stress, Inflammation.

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