The association of air pollution and depressed mood in 70,928 individuals from four European cohorts

W L Zijlema; K Wolf; R Emeny; K H Ladwig; A Peters; H Kongsgård; K Hveem; K Kvaløy; T Yli-Tuomi; T Partonen; T Lanki; M Eeftens; K de Hoogh; B Brunekreef; BioSHaRE; R P Stolk; J G M Rosmalen

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2015.11.006

The association of air pollution and depressed mood in 70,928 individuals from four European cohorts

Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2016 Mar;219(2):212-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2015.11.006. Epub 2015 Dec 2.

Authors

W L Zijlema¹, K Wolf², R Emeny², K H Ladwig³, A Peters², H Kongsgård⁴, K Hveem⁵, K Kvaløy⁵, T Yli-Tuomi⁶, T Partonen⁷, T Lanki⁶, M Eeftens⁸, K de Hoogh⁹, B Brunekreef¹⁰; BioSHaRE; R P Stolk¹¹, J G M Rosmalen¹²

Affiliations

¹ University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Epidemiology, Groningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: w.l.zijlema@umcg.nl.
² Institute of Epidemiology II, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany.
³ Institute of Epidemiology II, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany; Technische Universität München (TUM), Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, München, Germany.
⁴ Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs, Oslo, Norway.
⁵ HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Levanger, Norway.
⁶ National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Health Protection, Living Environment and Health Unit, Kuopio, Finland.
⁷ National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Health, Helsinki, Finland.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁹ Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
¹¹ University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Epidemiology, Groningen, The Netherlands.
¹² University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation (ICPE), Groningen, The Netherlands.

PMID: 26682644
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2015.11.006

Abstract

Background: Exposure to ambient air pollution may be associated with impaired mental health, including depression. However, evidence originates mainly from animal studies and epidemiological studies in specific subgroups. We investigated the association between air pollution and depressed mood in four European general population cohorts.

Methods: Data were obtained from LifeLines (the Netherlands), KORA (Germany), HUNT (Norway), and FINRISK (Finland). Residential exposure to particles (PM2.5, PM2.5absorbance, PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was estimated using land use regression (LUR) models developed for the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) and using European wide LUR models. Depressed mood was assessed with interviews and questionnaires. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the cohort specific associations between air pollution and depressed mood.

Results: A total of 70,928 participants were included in our analyses. Depressed mood ranged from 1.6% (KORA) to 11.3% (FINRISK). Cohort specific associations of the air pollutants and depressed mood showed heterogeneous results. For example, positive associations were found for NO2 in LifeLines (odds ratio [OR]=1.34; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.53 per 10 μg/m(3) increase in NO2), whereas negative associations were found in HUNT (OR=0.79; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.94 per 10 μg/m(3) increase in NO2).

Conclusions: Our analyses of four European general population cohorts found no consistent evidence for an association between ambient air pollution and depressed mood.

Keywords: Ambient air pollution; Depressed mood; Harmonization; Multi-cohort study; Traffic noise.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Air Pollutants / analysis
Air Pollution / analysis*
Cohort Studies
Depression / epidemiology*
Europe / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Vehicles
Nitrogen Dioxide / analysis
Noise
Odds Ratio
Particulate Matter / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Nitrogen Dioxide