Smog – hurts body and mind, causes depression

Greenhouse gases are a threat to the planet and human health. Not only for the physical, but also for the
mind. Air pollution causes serious psychological pathologies. A study confirms this
of the seminar Breathe me organized in Milan by the Ircss Ca’ Granda major hospital foundation
outpatient clinic and the Menarini International Foundation. For scientists: chronic exposure to smog leads to a greater risk of mental illness and psychiatric.

The study involved approximately two million people, followed over an eight-year period, and quantified the impact of exposure to air pollution on mental health.
According to the results, for every increase of about 1 microgram/cubic meter in the concentration of particulate matter Pm2.5 in the air, the risk of depression increases by 13%, that of anxiety disorders by 9% and that of schizophrenia by 7%.

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The link between high smog levels and increasing prescriptions for: medicines for depression, psychosis and
Mood stabilization goes hand in hand. Over there air quality it is important for everyone who is already fighting with
psychiatric disorders. For example, in people with bipolar depression, the high concentration of
smog is very harmful. In fact, the possibility of hospitalization for manic attacks quadruples.

The new disturbing data on the long-term effects of pollution indicate that smog poses a real danger not only to the heart and lungs, but also to the brain. In other words, smog can be so toxic to brain functioning that it causes psychiatric pathologies, probably through an increase in general inflammation or an alteration of antioxidant defenses.

Sergio Harari, Seminar Co-Chair and Director of Pneumology at San Giuseppe Hospital in Milan