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Declines in mental health associated with air pollution and temperature variability in China

Author

Listed:
  • Tao Xue

    (Peking University)

  • Tong Zhu

    (Peking University)

  • Yixuan Zheng

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Qiang Zhang

    (Tsinghua University)

Abstract

Mental disorders have been associated with various aspects of anthropogenic change to the environment, but the relative effects of different drivers are uncertain. Here we estimate associations between multiple environmental factors (air quality, residential greenness, mean temperature, and temperature variability) and self-assessed mental health scores for over 20,000 Chinese residents. Mental health scores were surveyed in 2010 and 2014, allowing us to link changes in mental health to the changes in environmental variables. Increases in air pollution and temperature variability are associated with higher probabilities of declined mental health. Mental health is statistically unrelated to mean temperature in this study, and the effect of greenness on mental health depends on model settings, suggesting a need for further study. Our findings suggest that the environmental policies to reduce emissions of air pollution or greenhouse gases can improve mental health of the public in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao Xue & Tong Zhu & Yixuan Zheng & Qiang Zhang, 2019. "Declines in mental health associated with air pollution and temperature variability in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-10196-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10196-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen Yang & Qingming Zhan & Sihang Gao & Huimin Liu, 2019. "How Do the Multi-Temporal Centroid Trajectories of Urban Heat Island Correspond to Impervious Surface Changes: A Case Study in Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Daqing Zu & Keyu Zhai & Yue Qiu & Pei Pei & Xiaoxian Zhu & Dongho Han, 2020. "The Impacts of Air Pollution on Mental Health: Evidence from the Chinese University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-15, September.
    3. Nicolas Barrantes & Jhonatan Clausen, 2022. "Does Multidimensional Poverty Affect Depression? Evidence from Peru," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 22(2), pages 107-129, April.
    4. Xie, Tingting & Yuan, Ye & Zhang, Hui, 2023. "Information, awareness, and mental health: Evidence from air pollution disclosure in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Mary Abed Al Ahad & Urška Demšar & Frank Sullivan & Hill Kulu, 2022. "Air pollution and individuals’ mental well-being in the adult population in United Kingdom: A spatial-temporal longitudinal study and the moderating effect of ethnicity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-27, March.
    6. Chongxian Chen & Weijing Luo & Ning Kang & Haiwei Li & Xiaohao Yang & Yu Xia, 2020. "Study on the Impact of Residential Outdoor Environments on Mood in the Elderly in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    7. Fabiani, Claudia & Gambucci, Marta & Chiatti, Chiara & Zampini, Giulia & Latterini, Loredana & Pisello, Anna Laura, 2022. "Towards field implementation of photoluminescence in the built environment for passive cooling and lighting energy efficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    8. Lohmann, Paul M. & Gsottbauer, Elisabeth & You, Jing & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2023. "Air pollution and anti-social behaviour: Evidence from a randomised lab-in-the-field experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    9. André Hajek & Hans-Helmut König, 2023. "Do Individuals with High Climate Anxiety Believe That They Will Die Earlier? First Evidence from Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-8, March.
    10. Yue Hua & Yun Qiu & Xiaoqing Tan, 2023. "The effects of temperature on mental health: evidence from China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1293-1332, July.
    11. Hania Rahimi-Ardabili & Thomas Astell-Burt & Phi-Yen Nguyen & Juan Zhang & Yu Jiang & Guang-Hui Dong & Xiaoqi Feng, 2021. "Green Space and Health in Mainland China: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-22, September.
    12. Angelina L. DeMarco & Rebecca Hardenbrook & Jeff Rose & Daniel L. Mendoza, 2020. "Air Pollution-Related Health Impacts on Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: Environmental Justice and Health Vulnerability in Salt Lake County, Utah," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-16, November.
    13. Jin Sun & Chuntian Lu & Jinchen Xie, 2022. "The Impact of Sustained Exposure to Air Pollutant on the Mental Health: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, May.
    14. Fangfang Hou & Xiao Han & Qiong Wang & Shuai Zhou & Jingya Zhang & Guodong Shen & Yan Zhang, 2022. "Cross-Sectional Associations between Living and Built Environments and Depression Symptoms among Chinese Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.
    15. Xuefeng Li & Han Yang & Jin Jia, 2022. "Impact of energy poverty on cognitive and mental health among middle-aged and older adults in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    16. Zhi Cao & Jingbo Zhou & Meng Li & Jizhou Huang & Dejing Dou, 2023. "Urbanites’ mental health undermined by air pollution," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 470-478, April.
    17. Jinling Quan, 2019. "Multi-Temporal Effects of Urban Forms and Functions on Urban Heat Islands Based on Local Climate Zone Classification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-35, June.

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