TY - JOUR
PY - 2023//
TI - Affective disorder and brain alterations in children and adolescents exposed to outdoor air pollution
JO - Journal of affective disorders
A1 - Xie, Hongsheng
A1 - Cao, Yuan
A1 - Li, Jiafeng
A1 - Lyu, Yichen
A1 - Roberts, Neil
A1 - Jia, Zhiyun
SP - 413
EP - 424
VL - 331
IS -
N2 - BACKGROUND: Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the development of the brain. However, a limited number of studies have explored how air pollution may associate with affective symptoms in youth.
METHODS: We performed a comprehensive review of the existing research on the associations between outdoor air pollution and affective disorders, suicidality, and the evidence for brain changes in youth. PRISMA guidelines were followed and PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and PsychINFO databases were searched from their inception to June 2022.
RESULTS: From 2123 search records, 28 papers were identified as being relevant for studying the association between air pollution and affective disorders (n = 14), suicide (n = 5), and neuroimaging-based evidence of brain alterations (n = 9). The exposure levels and neuropsychological performance measures were highly heterogeneous and confounders including traffic-related noise, indoor air pollution, and social stressors were not consistently considered. Notwithstanding, 10 out of the 14 papers provide evidence that air pollution is associated with increased risk of depression symptoms, and 4 out of 5 papers provide evidence that air pollution might trigger suicidal attempts and behaviors. Besides, 5 neuroimaging studies revealed decreased gray-matter volume in the Cortico-Striato-Thalamo-Cortical neurocircuitry, and two found white matter hyperintensities in the prefrontal lobe.
CONCLUSIONS: Outdoor air pollution is associated with increased risks of affective disorders and suicide in youth, and there is evidence for associated structural and functional brain abnormalities. Future studies should determine the specific effects of each air pollutant, the critical exposure levels, and population susceptibility.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0165-0327 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.03.082 ID - ref1 ER -