What is it about?
Air pollution is known to be linked to several respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancer diseases. However, whether air pollution is also associated with poor mental well-being outcomes, remains a question that requires further research. In this article, we examine whether air pollution is associated with poor mental well-being in the UK. We also investigate whether the effect of air pollution on mental well-being is stronger for ethnic minorities compared to the majority of the population.
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Why is it important?
After linking air pollution data to individual-level data and performing analysis, we found that exposure to higher concentrations of air pollution is linked to poorer mental well-being measured using the 12-items general health questionnaire, a widely used scale to measure non-psychotic psychiatric illness. We also found that living in more polluted census areas and local authorities in the UK is associated with poorer mental well-being rather than the variation of air pollution across time. Analysis by ethnicity did not reveal differences in the association between air pollution and mental-being. This means that air pollution does not affect the mental well-being of ethnic minorities in a stronger way as compared the majority of the population. This article is of importance for the stakeholders in the UK including the community and policymakers as it shows that air pollution is also linked to poor mental well-being and not only to poor physical health.
Perspectives
Writing this article was a great pleasure as it forms my third published paper from my PhD project, which forms a milestone in my research and academic career. I hope this article has contributed to advancing our knowledge regarding environmental exposures and mental health and I hope that this article would help in exerting pressure toward reducing pollution in all its types for a better health and better future.
Mary Abed Al Ahad
University of St Andrews
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Air pollution and individuals’ mental well-being in the adult population in United Kingdom: A spatial-temporal longitudinal study and the moderating effect of ethnicity, PLoS ONE, March 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264394.
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