Breakthrough Study Reveals the Impact of Air Pollution on Mental Health. The rapid increase in air pollution has become a worldwide problem. But do you know that WHO has estimated that 9 of every 10 people globally inhale polluted air, and exposure to contaminated air is responsible for 7 million deaths annually? Not only does it have harmful effects on our external and internal organs but also our mental health. To learn more about the breakthrough study that reveals the impact of air pollution on mental health, please keep reading the article.
Breakthrough Study Reveals the Impact of Air Pollution on Mental Health
Most studies and research have been done on the harmful effects of air pollution on our external and internal organs. However, most people are not aware of the harmful effects of air pollution on our mental health. According to data from the European Health Interview Survey (Eurostat, 2025), which was conducted in 2019, mental health problems affect one in six people in the EU, with 7.2% of EU citizens suffering from chronic depression. New research has been done that particularly highlights the impacts on the brains and mental health of children.
According to a study, people who breathe polluted air are more likely to develop mental health problems than those who breathe clean air. The researchers also identified that 95% of studies examining brain effects found major physical and functional changes within the emotion-regulation brain regions in those exposed to increased levels of air pollution.
Studies have shown that small air pollutants, such as ultrafine particles from vehicle exhaust, can affect the brain either directly, by traveling through the nose into the brain, or indirectly, by causing inflammation and altered immune responses in the body that can then cross into the brain.
Air pollution is known to cause inflammatory reactions within the body, and chronic inflammation in the brain can harm neurons and the nervous system’s regulatory responses. Animal research demonstrates that air pollution can reach the brain and cause this inflammation through a number of pathways:
- By traversing the blood-brain barrier, or the protective barrier between the brain’s blood vessels and the cells that generate up brain tissue, that functions to form a defense against pathogens and toxins present in our blood.
- By reaching the olfactory neurons that link the nose to the brain, polluted air is inhaled into the nose and can harm or destroy neurons at the site.
- By reaching the stomach and digestive system—where the enteric nervous system, often referred to as the “second brain,” resides and impacts our mood and well-being.
The research was done at the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry and was led by Professor Kam Bhui. Researchers in the UKRI-funded BioAirNet program analyzed existing studies looking at the effects of both indoor and outdoor air pollution across the life course, from birth and pregnancy to adolescence and adulthood.
Professor Bhui said, ‘Air pollution and mental health are both significant challenges that the world must deal with now and for years to come. This makes this area of research a vital public health priority.” “Given the high levels of serious mental illness in places where air pollution is greatest, in poorer and urban areas especially, and the links between, for example, cancer and serious mental illness, there may be common causes and risk factors that need to be understood and addressed.”
An increased risk of various mental health and cognitive impairments is also associated with secondhand smoke, a form of air pollution. These include depressive mood and suicidal ideation, with a dose-response relationship, anxiety, aggression, conduct disorder symptoms, and lower cognitive function.
The possible risks of air pollution on mental health seem to be distributed differently throughout the population. Markedly, the likelihood of developing mental disorders is highly related to socioeconomic status: children and adolescents from less fortunate backgrounds are reportedly two to three times more likely to struggle with mental illness. Additionally, people in lower socio-economic groups are more vulnerable to air pollution and thus more prone to related health effects. It is therefore likely that the impact of air pollution is magnified in poorer populations.
More research is required that depends on a method called brain imaging, which could allow researchers to detect slight or smaller changes that may happen prior to physical changes.