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According to experts, depression is on the list of most common mental health disorders. According to statistics, more than 7% of US residents suffer from a major depressive disorder on an annual basis. Although there are many complex causes of this disorder, researchers are still trying to know more about this aspect. So far, we know that there is a relationship between air pollution and depression. A new study has found that this disorder may be linked with pollution. Let’s find out more about it.
Researchers conducted a study with the help of a group of healthy volunteers in Beijing. According to experts, depression is on the list of most common mental health disorders. If you look at statistics, the most polluted cities are in China. Since these cities have a high level of pollution, researchers have chosen their residents to conduct this experiment.
Experts used air quality monitors in order to get a better idea of the volunteers’ exposure to fine particulate matter. Afterwards, all of the participants were evaluated for different signs of depression. Besides, they were also tested for their cognitive performance. The purpose was to find out if their cognitive performance declined due to breathing poor quality air.
They found that poor air quality has a negative impact on the mood and cognitive performance of people. Besides, researchers also came to know about a mechanism that may cause people to suffer from depression when exposed to pollution. They wanted to know as much as possible by conducting this experiment.
Apart from this, researchers also came to know that individuals that have genetic predisposition were more likely to develop a disorder when they are exposed to polluted air for the long term. The thing is that air pollution may also have a negative impact on the neural network in the human brain. Once this neural network is compromised, the individual may start having problems. So, we can say that air pollution can be very bad for your mental health. Once your mental health is compromised, you will have problems with other parts of your body as well.
So, we can say that air pollution is one of the primary factors that causes depression. This is the reason people are more likely to suffer from depression when they live in highly polluted areas. Therefore, those who live in the countryside have better mental health.
Although more research is required to completely understand the relationship between air pollution and depression, we suggest that you try your level best to breathe fresh air. For this purpose, we suggest that you consider purchasing a good air purifier for your home or office. These simple but powerful devices can purify your indoor air in an efficient manner. After all, you don’t want to suffer from depression in your life.