PLOS. (2019, August 20). Is pollution linked to psychiatric disorders?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 25, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190820141604.htm
A new study by PLOS has found a relationship between exposure to “environmental pollution and an increase in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders”, notably bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia. The study focused on populations from many countries, such as Denmark and the United States, concluding that “poor air quality” was associated with higher risk for mental disorders. The research hypothesizes that the particulate matter travels through the nose and lungs to get to the brain and affects the brain by influencing its neuroinflammatory pathways. However, the research cites that simply because there is a relationship between pollution and mental disorders, this does not “necessarily mean causation”, as there could be other factors contributing to mental disorders. Nevertheless, the relationship between pollution and the increase in psychiatric disorders is clear and should be investigated further.
This article is related to environmental science because it studies an organism’s interaction with their environment, in this instance focusing on the health impacts of certain pollutants. This article shed light on the somewhat unseen disorders or diseases which could be linked to air pollution, as most of the diseases currently associated with air pollution are lung and heart related. I think it is especially important to study the mental health consequences with pollution may have on humans because I believe often times mental health is overlooked. I am also interested in how our environment affects our mental health in a less direct way than with particulate matter, for example, how our perception of our environmental health affects our mental health. For me, I think my perception of our environmental health affects my mental health, I worry about our current usage of natural resources and how that may affect my children’s lives or even the human race.
This was a very interesting article for me to read as I had no idea that pollution could possibly affect psychiatric health. I wonder if this will be proved as a cause of psychiatric diseases or if it will remain a theory – it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. I wonder what measures will be taken to reduce pollution and possibly prevent some psychiatric diseases since this research has been released.
After reading this article, it was very interesting to me that pollution could cause mental health issues. I remember last year when the air quality was really bad, it made me feel kind of sick and light-headed but I was oblivious to the fact that it affects people much more than just a temporary headache.