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The effects of air pollution on individual psychological distress.

ABSTRACT: This study is the first of its kind to utilize longitudinal, nationally representative panel data from the United States to assess the relationship between exposure to air pollution and reports of psychological distress. Using annual-average measures of air pollution in respondents' census blocks of residence we find that over the period 1999-2011 particulate matter 2.5 is significantly associated with increased psychological distress; this association remains even after controlling for a robust set of demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related covariates. This study suggests that public health efforts to reduce the personal and societal costs of mental illness should consider addressing not only individual characteristics and factors in the social environment, but also underexplored facets of the physical environment such as air pollution.

SUBMITTER: Sass V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6023621 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The effects of air pollution on individual psychological distress.

Sass Victoria V Kravitz-Wirtz Nicole N Karceski Steven M SM Hajat Anjum A Crowder Kyle K Takeuchi David D

Health & place 20171005

This study is the first of its kind to utilize longitudinal, nationally representative panel data from the United States to assess the relationship between exposure to air pollution and reports of psychological distress. Using annual-average measures of air pollution in respondents' census blocks of residence we find that over the period 1999-2011 particulate matter 2.5 is significantly associated with increased psychological distress; this association remains even after controlling for a robust ...[more]

PMID: 28987650

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Project description:RationaleStudies identify prenatal household air pollution (HAP) exposure and maternal psychological distress (PMPD) as independent factors contributing to gestational ill-health and adverse birth outcomes.ObjectiveWe investigated the impact of PMPD on fetal biometric parameters (FBP) in HAP-exposed pregnant Nigerian women.MethodsThe randomized controlled trial (RCT; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02394574) investigated effects of HAP exposure in pregnant Nigerian women (n = 324), who customarily cooked with polluting fuels (firewood or kerosene). Half of the women (intervention group) were given CleanCook ethanol stoves to use for 156 days during the study. Once a month, all women were administered an abridged version of the SF-12v2TM health-related quality of life questionnaire to assess psychological distress. Using mixed effects linear regression models, adjusted for relevant covariates, we analyzed associations between the women's exposure to PM2·5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter<2·5 microns) from HAP, their PMPD scores, and FBP (ultrasound estimated fetal weight [UEFW], head circumference [HC], abdominal circumference [AC], femur length [FL], biparietal diameter [BPD], estimated gestational age [GA] and intrauterine growth restriction [IUGR]), and birth anthropometric measures (birth weight [BW] and birth length [BL]).ResultsPMPD negatively impacted UEFW, HC, FL, BPD and BL (p<0·05). Controls (kerosene/firewood users) experienced significantly higher PMPD compared with ethanol-stove users (p<0·05). The mediation analysis revealed that the proportion of the outcome (fetal biometrics, birth anthropometrics, IUGR and GA), which can be explained via PMPD by groups (intervention vs. control) after adjusting for confounding variables was 6·2% (0·062). No significant correlation was observed between levels of PM2.5 exposure and PMPD scores.ConclusionsPMPD was an independent mediator of adverse fetal biometric parameters in pregnant women, who were exposed to HAP from burning of firewood/kerosene. Formulating preventative measures to alleviate maternal distress during pregnancy and reducing exposure to HAP is important from public health perspectives.

Project description:Psychosocial and environmental stress exposures across the life course have been shown to be relevant in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Assessing more than one stressor from different domains (e.g., individual and neighborhood) and across the life course moves us towards a more integrated picture of how stress affects health and well-being. Furthermore, these individual and neighborhood psychosocial stressors act on biologic pathways, including immune function and inflammatory response, which are also impacted by ubiquitous environmental exposures such as air pollution. The objective of this study is to evaluate the interaction between psychosocial stressors, at both the individual and neighborhood level, and air pollution on CVD. This study used data from the 2009-2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from Washington State. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) measured at the individual level, and neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) measured at the zip code level, were the psychosocial stressors of interest. Exposures to three air pollutants-particulate matter (both PM2.5 and PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO?)-were also calculated at the zip code level. Outcome measures included several self-reported CVD-related health conditions. Both multiplicative and additive interaction quantified using the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), were evaluated. This study included 32,151 participants in 502 unique zip codes. Multiplicative and positive additive interactions were observed between ACEs and PM10 for diabetes, in models adjusted for NDI. The prevalence of diabetes was 1.58 (95% CI: 1.40, 1.79) times higher among those with both high ACEs and high PM10 compared to those with low ACEs and low PM10 (p-value = 0.04 for interaction on the multiplicative scale). Interaction was also observed between neighborhood-level stressors (NDI) and air pollution (NO?) for the stroke and diabetes outcomes on both multiplicative and additive scales. Modest interaction was observed between NDI and air pollution, supporting prior literature on the importance of neighborhood-level stressors in cardiovascular health and reinforcing the importance of NDI on air pollution health effects. ACEs may exert health effects through selection into disadvantaged neighborhoods and more work is needed to understand the accumulation of risk in multiple domains across the life course.

Project description:Background Little is known about the psychological risks of dispatched citizen responders who have participated in resuscitation attempts. Methods and Results A cross-sectional survey study was performed with 102 citizen responders who participated in a resuscitation attempt from July 23, 2018, to August 22, 2018, in the Capital Region of Denmark. Psychological distress, defined as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, was assessed 3 weeks after the resuscitation attempt and measured with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale. Individual differences were assessed as the personality traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience with the Big Five Inventory, general self-efficacy, and coping mechanisms (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory). Associations between continuous variables were examined with the Pearson correlation. The associations between psychological distress levels and contextual factors and individual differences were analyzed in multivariable linear regression models to determine factors independently associated with psychological distress levels. The mean overall posttraumatic stress disorder score was 0.65 of 12; the mean perceived stress score was 7.61 of 40. The most common coping mechanisms were acceptance and emotional support. Low perceived stress was significantly associated with high general self-efficacy, and high perceived stress was significantly associated with high scores on neuroticism and openness to experience. Non-healthcare professionals were less likely to report symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions Citizen responders who participated in resuscitation reported low levels of psychological distress. Individual differences were significantly associated with levels of psychological distress and should be considered when engaging citizen responders in resuscitation.

Dataset Information

The effects of air pollution on individual psychological distress.

Publications

The effects of air pollution on individual psychological distress.

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