Air pollution contributes to more than 5 million deaths per year across the globe. In the United States, nearly 4 out of 10 people live in a place with poor air quality. While its links to physical conditions like asthma and lung cancer are widely known, many people aren’t aware of the ways air pollution can influence mental health.
In fact, rising pollution levels from smog, factories, gas-burning vehicles, and wildfires, among other factors, can have significant effects on an emotional level. The mental distress that people may experience as a result of climate change is known as “eco-anxiety.” Poor air quality is also linked to changes in behavior and moods, productivity at work, and general well-being.
Breathing in polluted air can also affect mental health through its influence on bodily processes. For instance, tiny particles inhaled from pollution may affect your hormones, immune system, and your brain chemistry. Air pollution is even linked to an increased risk of dementia over time.
Poor air quality can harm you, but it does not mean it inevitably will. Learn more about the connection between air pollution and mental health—plus steps you can take to protect yourself and others around you.
Read the full article on the ShareCare website.
Written by Aparna Kumar and in collaboration with the Center for Children’s Health Assessment, Research Translation, and Combating Environmental Racism (CHARTER) at Emory University.