{"id":449685,"date":"2026-04-07T17:12:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/04\/07\/linquinamento-puo-causare-problemi-di-salute-mentale-lo-studio-dellagenzia-europea-per-lambiente\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T15:39:11","slug":"pollution-can-cause-mental-health-problems-a-study-by-the-european-environment-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/04\/07\/pollution-can-cause-mental-health-problems-a-study-by-the-european-environment-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Pollution can cause mental health problems: a study by the European Environment Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 Reducing pollution is not only good for our physical health, but also for our mental health. This is highlighted in the briefing published today <\/a>(7 April) by the European Environment Agency <\/a><\/span>(EEA), which analyses the link between exposure to pollutants and psychological disorders<\/strong>. At a time when mental health issues are constantly on the rise<\/strong>, the EEA stresses the urgency of “integrating environmental policies with health policies,” while promoting greater collaboration between sectors and disciplines.<\/p>\n

Mental health conditions have complex, multifactorial causes: genetic factors, socio-economic conditions, psychological factors, and lifestyle all play a part. The agency also cites air and noise pollution, as well as exposure to chemicals, as contributing factors. According to the EEA, there is a \u201csignificant correlation<\/strong>\u201d between these factors: although further studies are needed to clarify causal relationships, the available evidence now makes it difficult to deny the link.<\/p>\n

Research shows that the impact of pollution is particularly significant during the most critical stages of human development. Childhood and early adolescence<\/strong> are periods of greater vulnerability<\/strong>, with an increased risk of disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and behavioural problems. Prolonged exposure to poor air quality is also associated with a higher incidence of depression, while pollution spikes can exacerbate the symptoms of schizophrenia.<\/p>\n

With regard to noise pollution, the EEA notes a 3 per cent increase in the risk of<\/strong> depression and a 2 per cent increase in the risk of anxiety<\/strong>. In children, exposure to environmental noise is linked to a higher incidence of behavioural disorders, with direct effects on mental well-being. Even more worrying are some specific figures: a 10-decibel increase in rail noise<\/strong> is associated with a 2.2 per cent rise in suicide rates<\/strong>, whilst exposure to aircraft noise during pregnancy can increase the risk of depression by 12 per cent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Chemicals also represent a risk factor. Prenatal or childhood exposure<\/strong> to lead<\/strong> is associated with depression and schizophrenia<\/strong>. Furthermore, second-hand smoke is consistently linked to mental health disorders, particularly among the most vulnerable groups, such as children and pregnant women. Recent studies also indicate a link between prenatal exposure to BPA and the onset of anxiety and depression in young children.<\/p>\n

\n

In light of this evidence, the EEA proposes adopting a \u201cOne Health\u201d <\/strong>approach, which recognises the interconnection among<\/span> human, animal, and environmental health. Achieving the objectives of the European Action Plan for Zero Pollution<\/a> by 2030\u2014by reducing emissions and expanding access to natural spaces\u2014could help improve the mental well-being of millions of European citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Childhood and early adolescence are periods of heightened vulnerability, with an increased risk of conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and behavioural problems<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7896,"featured_media":260706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25706,30961],"tags":[27896,33696,29599,33697,26076,33698,33699,27246,33700,33394,27035],"class_list":["post-449685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-economy-en","category-salute-en","tag-aea-en","tag-agenzia-europea-per-lambiente","tag-products-chemicals-en","tag-disturbi-salute-mentale","tag-environment-en","tag-inquinamento-acustico","tag-inquinamento-atmosferico","tag-inquiry-en","tag-salute-mentale","tag-ue","tag-unione-europea-en-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":449686,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449685\/revisions\/449686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}