Links between pollution and mental health in Europe – results from an umbrella review
G Sanchez, X Jiang, M Kutlar Joss, C Santjer, M Bathow, D Plass, M RöösliAbstract
Background
Pollution is increasingly examined as a contributor to Europe’s mental health burden. We summarise current scientific evidence on associations between exposure to pollution (air, noise and selected chemicals) and mental health outcomes to inform prevention and policy.
Methods
Evidence synthesis underpinning an EEA briefing based on a comprehensive literature review with a focus on systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Results
Across multiple studies, exposure to pollution was consistently correlated with depression, anxiety and other mental health outcomes. Long-term exposure to poor air quality (notably PM2.5 and NO2) was linked to higher prevalence or risk of new-onset depression; short-term peaks were associated with worsening schizophrenia symptoms, and exposure during sensitive developmental windows (in utero, childhood, early adolescence) was associated with structural and functional brain changes. For environmental noise, increases in road-traffic noise were correlated with small increases in depression (≈3%) and anxiety (≈2%) risk; meta-analytic evidence indicated ≈12% higher depression risk per 10 dB Lden increase in aircraft noise, and suicide rates increased ≈2.2% per 10 dB increase in railway noise. For chemicals, prenatal or childhood lead exposure was associated with depression and schizophrenia; second-hand smoke exposure was consistently linked to depression and schizophrenia; and prenatal BPA exposure was associated with depression and anxiety in childhood.
Conclusions
Current evidence supports pollution reduction as a potentially important lever for protecting mental health. Delivering the EU Zero Pollution agenda, integrating mental health indicators into environmental health surveillance, and expanding access to green/blue spaces and nature-based solutions could yield population-level mental health benefits while research continues to strengthen causal inference.