Air pollution causes stress and depression, and increases deaths from heart disease

A study based on health data from more than 315 million Americans has found that atmospheric pollution It also causes mental health problems such as stress or depression, which increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in adults under 65 years of age.

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The study, carried out by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Boston, United States), was presented this Friday at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress being held in Athens.

“Our study shows that the air we breathe affects our mental well-being, which in turn impacts heart health,” says Shady Abohashem, lead author and researcher at Harvard.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019.

In turn, mental illness has also been linked to premature death.

The study wanted to examine whether air pollution and poor mental health are interrelated and whether they have a joint impact on death from cardiovascular disease.

To do this, the researchers focused on PM2.5 particles, very small particles in the air that have a diameter of 2.5 micrometers and which pose the greatest risk to our health. These fine particles are generated in vehicle exhaust pipes, in the combustion of power plants and in the burning of wood.

In parallel, the team obtained data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on annual levels of PM2.5 in more than 3,000 counties and classified exposure to these particles as high or low, according to standards. of the World Health Organization (WHO).

They also collected data on the average number of days (standardized by age) that county residents suffered from mental health problems, such as stress, depression, and emotional problems.

They then classified each county into three groups based on these numbers, and obtained premature cardiovascular mortality rates (under age 65) by age and county.

The study included 3,047 US counties, representing 315 million residents (more than 207 million aged 20 to 64, and 50% women) in 2013.

Between 2013 and 2019, more than one million people (0.34% of participants) died from cardiovascular disease before the age of 65.

Pollution, mental health and cardiovascular mortality

Using this data, the team analyzed the associations between pollution, mental health and premature cardiovascular mortality and found that counties with higher concentrations of PM2.5 were 10% more likely to report worse levels of mental health, compared to counties with clean air.

Furthermore, that risk was notably higher in counties with a high prevalence of minority groups or poverty.

In turn, the relationship between mental health and premature cardiovascular mortality was higher in counties with higher levels (above the recommended levels of air pollution recommended by the WHO).

In these counties, higher levels of mental health problems were associated with a three-fold increase in premature cardiovascular mortality compared to lower levels of mental health.

“These results reveal a double threat from air pollution: it not only worsens mental health, but also significantly amplifies the risk of heart-related deaths associated with poor mental health,” warns Abohashem.

For the researcher, this study demonstrates that “public health strategies that address both air quality and mental well-being are urgently needed to preserve cardiovascular health.”

Source: Elcomercio

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