New research carried out in England, analyzing data from 9,065 people, has found a relationship between greater exposure to environmental pollution during the early stages of life and the risk of developing psychotic disorders and depression. during youth. The results of the study have been published in the scientific journal JAMA Network Open and also reveal that individuals who had been more exposed to noise during their childhood and adolescence were more likely to suffer from anxiety.
The study has been carried out by a team of scientists from various institutions, including the University of Bristol. “Childhood, adolescence and early adulthood are critical periods for the development of psychiatric disorders: worldwide, almost two-thirds of those affected become ill by the age of 25. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence. evidence, from different populations, locations and using different study designs, suggesting a detrimental impact of air pollution (and potentially noise pollution) on mental health,” said Dr Joanne Newbury, postdoctoral researcher Sir Henry Wellcome at the University of Bristol Medical School and lead author of the study.
The researchers state in their article that “the results of this cohort study provide novel evidence that early exposure to particulate matter is prospectively associated with the development of psychotic experiences and depression in youth,” and that they have also found an association with anxiety, and insist on the pressing need for more research that analyzes the impact of air and noise pollution, since they consider that “interventions to reduce exposure to air and noise pollution (for example, areas of clean air) could potentially improve the mental health of the population.”
“The study confirms the evidence on the effect of urban pollution on psychosis and depression, previously observed in adults, children and young people. And it shows, in one of the first times, a role of noise in childhood and youth in anxiety in these stages,” highlighted Jordi Sunyer, researcher at ISGlobal and professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona, which has not participated in this investigation, in statements to SMC Spain.
Impact of pollution on neurodevelopment and mental health
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, director of the Nebrija Research Center in Cognition, has indicated in statements to the same medium that “the study presents a very careful sample from which data has been obtained at different levels, including aspects related to mental health at different levels. moments in time, from mothers’ pregnancy to adulthood. Furthermore, these longitudinal data are combined with existing data on air and noise pollution from different points in time obtained from objective sources. The study develops a series of very accurate statistical analyzes that take into account possible variables modulating the effects, and the conclusions are well founded on the findings.”
“Exposure to small polluting particles in the air during pregnancy and, in some cases, during childhood, has a potentiating effect on mental health problems”
Duñabeitia explained that this study “presents two types of evidence that invite us to rethink the impact of pollution on neurodevelopment and mental health throughout childhood and youth. On the one hand, this research reveals that exposure to small polluting particles in the air during pregnancy and, in some cases, during childhood, has a potentiating effect on mental health problems related to both psychotic episodes and symptoms of depression. during adolescence and youth.”
And he adds that, on the other hand, “this study shows how exposure to noise pollution during childhood and adolescence is associated with a greater presence of anxiety in people. These results link directly to recent meta-analyses that also demonstrate the impact of exposure to small polluting particles during pregnancy on the weight of newborns, especially in Europe, highlighting the relevance of environmental pollution in neurodevelopment and cognitive health. and mental.” “The study does not present any notable deficiencies and the results are correctly based on solid statistical approximations,” he concludes.
In Sunyer’s opinion, “ALSPAC (The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) is one of the best prospective cohort studies from the beginning of pregnancy to adulthood in the world.” However, he warns that “new studies are needed in which the measurement of psychiatric disorders and pollution and noise is more valid to confirm these results, as well as to carry them out in other areas to demonstrate that they are not unique to the south of England.” ”.
