Can pollution JAM UP your brain?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
You’re weaving through honking, coughing traffic. Your head is pounding like a drum solo. Could smog be scrambling our brain signals?
Enter Yichen Yang and a team from the University of Edinburgh. They studied over two hundred THOUSAND adults, analyzing long-term exposure to the vehicle emission nitrogen dioxide.
Using hospital records and pollution data, they found a strong correlation between N2O exposure and mood disorders. There’s even a link to dementia!
But don’t hold your breath! Planting trees, reducing car trips, and supporting clean air initiatives can make a difference.
So let’s clear the air—and give our brains a fresher perspective!
Reference: Yang, Y., Cowie, C.T., Henderson, S.B., & Liu, S. (2024). Long term exposure to ambient air pollution and hospital admission for mental and behavioural disorders: a population-based cohort study. BMJ Open, 14(12), e084032. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084032