ISLAMABAD, JAN 08 (Online): A recent study has concluded that exposure to air pollution, particularly during the first 10 years of life, could play a significant role in the development of psychiatric disorders. However, not everyone is convinced by the data.
The study, which appears in PLOS Biology, used data from the United States and Denmark to uncover the possible link between environmental pollution and psychiatric disorders.
The new research found that rates of both bipolar disorder and depression were higher among those living in areas of poor air quality.
The researchers also concluded that Danish people who lived in polluted areas during their first decade of life were more than twice as likely to have personality disorders and schizophrenia.
Air pollution research
To reach their conclusion, the researchers drew from two large datasets. The pollution information for the U.S. came from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air quality measurements, while for Denmark, the researchers looked at the national pollution register.
The EPA track 87 different air quality measurements. Although the Danish pollution register monitors fewer measurements, they have a higher spatial resolution.
The team then looked at healthcare data. For the U.S., they accessed a health insurance database that included claims that more than 151 million individuals made between 2003 and 2013.
For Denmark, they used data for all of the residents who were born in the country between 1979 and 2002 and were living in Denmark on their 10th birthday.
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