Fine particulate matter exposure and pediatric mental health outcomes: An integrative review

Abstract

IntroductionClimate change is expected to worsen air pollution globally, which contributes to a multitude of negative health outcomes in humans.AimThe purpose of this integrative review is to examine the relationship between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents.MethodsThis review utilized Whittemore and Knafl's methodology for conducting an integrative review. After a thorough search of the literature, 17 articles were selected for this review and evaluated utilizing the Johns Hopkins Evidence Based Practice Appraisal Tool.ResultsOf the 17 articles, all were quantitative observational study designs. The studies were then synthesized into four outcome themes. These themes included emergent and general psychiatric outcomes, neurodevelopmental disorders, stress and anxiety, and depression.DiscussionThe strongest evidence supports a possible correlation between PM2.5 exposure and adolescent mental health outcomes, although there were some studies that contradicted these associations. While research on this topic is in its early stages, more needs to be conducted to determine causality with any of the associations presented to improve generalizability of the findings.Implications for PracticeNurses must be aware of and part of the solution to address climate change and resulting air pollution, as it is a potentially significant threat to children's mental health in the 21st century.

Potential Early Effect Biomarkers for Ambient Air Pollution Related Mental Disorders

“…Both long-term and short-term adverse effects of air pollution on mental health have been reported currently, in which the long-term exposure is mainly associated with increased incidence of mental disorders and the short-term exposure is generally related to acute exacerbation or episodes of mental disorders. Increasing systematic reviews and meta-analyses have evaluated the association between long-and short-term air pollution exposures and depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Moreover, environmental policies aimed at reducing emissions of air pollution or greenhouse gases can improve mental health [24], which indirectly verified the mental impairment of ambient air pollution.…”

Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report 2023

“…al., 2016) but is linked to later psychopathology such as major depressive disorder(Latham et al, 2021;Trombley, 2023).…”