Breathing dusty makes people 'crazy'

Exposure to airborne dust particles from babies is associated with a doubling of the risk of schizophrenia in patients as well as increased personality disorder, depression and bipolar.

Air pollution not only causes lung diseases and reduces people's lifespan but also increases the risk of mental illness and warnings by scientists in new research.

To draw this conclusion, the researchers compared health data and exposure levels to pollutants in the air of 151 million Americans and 1.4 million people in Denmark.

Picture 1 of Breathing dusty makes people 'crazy'
Dust pollution in New Delhi, India - (Photo: AFP)

Specifically, for Danish patients in particular, the researchers compared data on mental health and exposure to air pollution during the first 10 years of life. Meanwhile, in the US, this data is compared to the level of exposure in real time.

According to the researchers, exposure to airborne dust particles from childhood is associated with more than double the risk of schizophrenia in Danish patients, as well as the Increased risk of personality disorder, depression and bipolar disorder.

Data in the United States also showed a link between air pollution and more serious depression and bipolar disorder. However, the study did not detect the relationship between air quality and the risk of other diseases such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and Parkinson's.

Expert Andrey Rzhetsky of the University of Chicago (USA), who led the study, said there are many causes of mental illness, and air pollution is a new element that scientists think of.

According to him, research results on rodent dogs and animals show that after being inhaled, airborne contaminants can enter the brain, causing inflammation and leading to symptoms. Similar to depression.

He identified the same phenomenon completely possible in humans.

The study is published in the American journal PLOS Biology .