Sep 11, 2023 04:56 PM
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230...nd-suicide
EXCERPTS: Over the past few years, various studies have identified associations between raised levels of air pollution and suicide risk. What should we make of this evidence?
[...] It's not known for certain, but researchers have their suspicions. Air pollution entering the lungs can inhibit the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream, and then the brain. Other studies unrelated to suicide have shown that this can lead to cognitive impairments, among other effects.
In the case of suicide risk, researchers suspect that pollution can lead to inflammation in the brain, deficits in serotonin, and disrupt stress response pathways, which can in turn make depressive behaviours and impulsivity more likely. It's possible, then, that bad air can affect how people think: leading to a brain fog that could encourage suicidal ideation without them realising.
[...] As with any research that examines correlations, there could well be other environmental influences at play.
[...] Past experience, from the likes of Denmark and elsewhere, shows that successfully reducing suicide rates requires multiple interventions, at a local and national scale. Air pollution increases the likelihood of suicide by a few percentage points, but eliminating it won't solve the problem.
However, if the link with suicide is confirmed and elaborated by more research, it would provide all the more reason for public warnings and awareness campaigns when bad air is elevated, say Heo and colleagues. With climate change, they warn, desertification, droughts and wildfires become more likely, all of which are known to increase air pollution. These problems will be bad enough, and if we factor in the additional risk of people killing themselves too, then tackling them will require extra urgency... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Over the past few years, various studies have identified associations between raised levels of air pollution and suicide risk. What should we make of this evidence?
[...] It's not known for certain, but researchers have their suspicions. Air pollution entering the lungs can inhibit the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream, and then the brain. Other studies unrelated to suicide have shown that this can lead to cognitive impairments, among other effects.
In the case of suicide risk, researchers suspect that pollution can lead to inflammation in the brain, deficits in serotonin, and disrupt stress response pathways, which can in turn make depressive behaviours and impulsivity more likely. It's possible, then, that bad air can affect how people think: leading to a brain fog that could encourage suicidal ideation without them realising.
[...] As with any research that examines correlations, there could well be other environmental influences at play.
[...] Past experience, from the likes of Denmark and elsewhere, shows that successfully reducing suicide rates requires multiple interventions, at a local and national scale. Air pollution increases the likelihood of suicide by a few percentage points, but eliminating it won't solve the problem.
However, if the link with suicide is confirmed and elaborated by more research, it would provide all the more reason for public warnings and awareness campaigns when bad air is elevated, say Heo and colleagues. With climate change, they warn, desertification, droughts and wildfires become more likely, all of which are known to increase air pollution. These problems will be bad enough, and if we factor in the additional risk of people killing themselves too, then tackling them will require extra urgency... (MORE - missing details)
