Smoggy Skies, Foggy Minds

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