Published 08:09 IST, December 20th 2024 Research has found an increased hospital admissions for all causes, including mental illnesses, in relation to a long-term exposure to air pollution. Research has found an increased hospital admissions for all causes, including mental illnesses, in relation to a long-term exposure to air pollution. The Scottish study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open, found that a higher exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.
5) combined was linked to a higher hospitalisations for cardiovascular, respiratory and infectious diseases. Researchers from the University of St Andrews, UK, found that for every one micron per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 and NO2 pollutants, the incidence for hospitalisations for respiratory conditions rose by over four per cent and one per cent, respectively.
Air pollution linked to higher rates of hospital admissions for physical, mental issues Further, higher hospital admissions for mental or behavioural disorders were associated with an increased exposure to nitrogen dioxide. While the average yearly levels of NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 were lower than the 2005 World Health Organization guidelines, the levels of NO2 and PM2.
5 were higher than those in the more recent 2021 guidelines, the team said. They added that previous studies analysing the health impacts of long-term exposure to air pollution have tended to look at deaths, rather than hospital admissions. The study tracked 2.