Breathing polluted air can worsen mental health and consequently increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. That’s what a new study conducted by American researchers, covering at least 300 million people living in the United States, shows.
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Is there still a place in the world where people breathe healthy air free of pollution? Not sure, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99% of the world’s men, women and children “breathe[nt] air whose values exceed [ses] recommendations and contains high levels of contaminants. Health authorities estimate that in 2019, there were 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide linked to outdoor air pollution and 6.7 million premature deaths linked to indoor and outdoor air pollution. The majority of these deaths are related to cardiovascular diseases.
American researchers have been working on this topic, conducting research in more than 3,000 US counties, or 315 million residents. Published by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) on the occasion of the ESC Preventive Cardiology 2024 scientific congress, the work establishes a link between air pollution and the risk of stress and depression, which significantly increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. disease in people under 65 years of age. “Our research shows that the air we breathe affects our mental well-being, which in turn affects our heart health,” explains Dr Shady Abohashem, professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, US.
While most scientific studies attempt to evaluate the effects of air pollution on physical health, this study initially focused on the potential link between air pollution and mental health. Then secondly, the impact that it may have on the risk of cardiovascular disease. To do this, the researchers focused on particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, small particles, whether from vehicle exhaust or from power plant combustion, that are considered harmful to respiratory and cardiovascular health.
Bad for mental health
The scientists collected several data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 3,047 American counties: annual levels of fine particles, which were classified according to WHO recommendations, as well as the average number of days that corresponding residents suffered. from mental health problems. As a result, the counties most affected by outdoor air pollution are also those that report the highest number of days in which their population suffers from mental health problems (+10%).
The researchers also indicate that the link between poor mental health and premature death from cardiovascular disease was higher in the most polluted counties. More specifically, higher rates of mental disorders were associated with three times the rate of premature death from cardiovascular disease in counties with the most polluted air. This observation is leading scientists to call for policies to address air pollution as well as public mental health.
“Our findings show the double threat of air pollution: not only does it worsen mental health, but it also significantly increases the risk of cardiac death associated with poor mental health. There is an urgent need to implement public health strategies that target both air quality and mental well-being to maintain cardiovascular health,” concludes Dr. Shadi Abohashem, lead author of the paper.
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