Psychosis And Schizophrenia
Last year we reported on a study carried out in the UK by King’s College London that found a significant association with exposure to air pollution (nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter) and reports of psychosis during adolescence. Young people who have psychotic experiences are more likely to develop psychotic disorders or mental health problems later in life.
Since then, a newer study by Aarhus University researchers has been published that found higher childhood nitrogen dioxide exposure was correlated with increasing polygenic risk score for schizophrenia. Meaning, the combination of exposure to nitrogen dioxide (air pollution) as a child and genetic liability for schizophrenia (calculated with a polygenic risk score) increases the chances of developing the mental disorder. However, they do not yet know why.
Henriette Thisted Horsdal, the senior researcher of the study, said:
The risk of developing schizophrenia is also higher if you have a higher genetic liability for the disease. Our data shows that these associations are independent of each other. The association between air pollution and schizophrenia cannot be explained by a higher genetic liability in people who grow up in areas with high levels of air pollution.
The study shows that the higher the level of air pollution, the higher the risk of schizophrenia.
For each 10 μg/m3 (concentration of air pollution per cubic meter) increase in the daily average, the risk of schizophrenia increases by approximately twenty percent. Children who are exposed to an average daily level above 25 μg/m3 have an approx. sixty percent greater risk of developing schizophrenia compared to those who are exposed to less than 10 μg/m3.
What these numbers mean is that in a healthy environment, approximately two out of a hundred people developing schizophrenia during their life. But in a polluted environment, the figure rises to three out of a hundred people.
The List Goes On
Bad air quality affects our physical and mental health. Citizens of cities with higher air pollution run higher risks of a slew of illnesses, disorders, and even higher death tolls and shorter lifespans.
The particles of air pollution are so small that, when inhaled, they quickly enter the bloodstream where they are then carried off to all the other parts of the body. This is how air pollutants can cause:
- Brain cancer
- Dementia (even Alzheimer’s Disease)
- Lung cancer
- Severe pulmonary infections (like meningitis and pneumonia)
- Asthma
- Blood clots that lead to stroke and heart attack
- A weakened immune system that leads to diabetes and weight gain
- Glaucoma (blindness)
- Miscarriages (pollutants get into the fetal placenta – researchers examined the placentas of miscarried babies found particles even in 12-week old fetuses)
- and more.
When the pollutants make their way into your organs and bloodstream and get lodged into your tissues, they trigger an immune response (your body’s natural reaction to trap, contain, and remove invading particles). If this repeatedly occurs over long periods, it causes systemic inflammation – an overactive, overly excited immune response, which is the primary way air pollution harms the brain, however, it’s terrible all around.
Yet another study from India found that breathing in very polluted air is as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! All of this and more is why an average of 10,000 people die a day from having to breathe bad air.
The State of Global Air Report from last year said:
Air pollution is the fifth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. It is responsible for more deaths than malnutrition, alcoholism, and physical inactivity. Each year, more people die from air pollution-related diseases than from road traffic injuries or malaria.
So, we have to ask ourselves how many studies will have to be conducted that present the dangers of air pollution until we begin to see real action?
