More concentrations of PM2.5 emitted by fires are linked to an increase in urgent interventions due to anxiety, depression and similar disorders.
Fires could harm brain health. And not only because they represent a traumatic event that can cause the loss of goods and certainties: according to a study by the Harvard That School of Public Health, short -term exposure to atmospheric particulate issued by large -scale bonfires is connected to an increase in requests for anxiety, depression and other mental disorders. The research was published on Jama Network Open.
Invisible threat. The high concentration of atmospheric particulates in the air has already been associated with negative effects on mental health in the past. The causes are not very clear, even if at the basis of what is only an association, without cause-effect bonds, there may be factors such as an increase in inflammation and oxidative stress (a form of chemical stress), phenomena that can damage cells and tissues.
Get sick breathing. Persistent fires spread large quantities of fine particulate Like PM2.5 (particles of the measurement of 2.5 microns or not), enough minute to penetrate in the lungs and in the blood. These dust, which can also convey to their surface toxic substances produced by combustion, have already been connected to respiratory, cardiovascular problems, infertility and dementia. The new study is among the first to focus on immediate repercussions On mental health, and to isolate the association between fires and these disorders from all other possible effects.
Urgent help. Scientists analyzed the data on the levels of PM2.5 and on the frequency of visits to the emergency rescue for mental disorders in California between July and December 2020, one of the worst seasons of the fires ever.
Among the conditions for which urgent help was requested there were anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, psychotic disorders or by abuse of psychoactive substances. These emergencies were connected to the users’ postcode (and therefore to the area where they lived). Throughout California, in the period considered there were total 86,588 emergency visits for mental health disorders.
Immediate connection. The concentration of PM2.5 was on average 6.95 microorgams for each cube of air in normal conditions, but it climbed up to 24.9 in the worst peak in September 2020. Each increase of 10 milligrams per cubic meter of PM2.5 was connected to a greater number of requests for help for the disorders mentioned, and up to 7 days after the initial exposure.
The most fragile affected. As often happens in issues concerning the right to healththe worst impact occurred on women, children, young adults and belonging to minoritiesor in the members of Medicaid, the federal program that provides health care for US families with limited income.
Those with limited economic resources often have no alternatives to exposure to particulates, for example because they cannot move away from their home; or already live in conditions that can favor mental disorders. In a historical phase in which the frequency of fire is exasperated by the effects of climate change, it will also be necessary to consider this aspect.
