Time for a Green New Deal for Adolescent Mental Illness?

Does air pollution mediate the association between living in an urban environment and risk for psychosis? Investigators analyzed data on urbanicity and ambient air pollution regarding 2063 twins born in England and Wales who were followed until age 18. At age 18, participants were interviewed about psychotic experiences from ages 12 through 18; these comprised seven items involving delusions and hallucinations and six involving unusual experiences such as people or places seeming different. Psychotic symptoms were defined as hallucinations or delusions only. Data on ambient air pollution involved levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), nitrogen oxides (NO_X), and large and small particles where each participant lived most of the time.

Analyses cont…