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Prenatal air pollution is linked to mental health problems in adolescents
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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A study led by the University of Bristol and published in JAMA Network Open found that fetal exposure to air pollution is associated with the development of certain mental health disorders in adolescence.
Growing evidence suggests that air pollution, including toxic gases and particulate matter, may contribute to mental health problems. Pollution is thought to negatively impact mental health in a number of ways, including disrupting the blood-brain barrier, promoting neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, and directly penetrating the brain and damaging tissue.
Although adolescence is a key period for the onset of these problems, relatively few studies have so far examined the links between early life exposure to air pollution and noise and mental health.
In the new study, researchers aimed to examine the long-term effects of exposure to air pollution and noise during pregnancy, early childhood and adolescence on three common mental health problems: psychotic experiences (including hallucinations and delusions), depression and anxiety.
To do this, the team used data from more than 9,000 participants in the Children of the 90s study (also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children), which recruited more than 14,000 pregnant women in the Bristol area between 1991 and 1992 and has been following the women, their children and partners ever since.
By matching participants' early childhood data with their mental health reports at ages 13, 18 and 24, the researchers were able to use the data to create a map of outdoor air pollution and noise in south-west England at different points in time.
The researchers found that relatively small increases in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during pregnancy and childhood were associated with more psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms in adolescence and early adulthood. These associations persisted after accounting for many associated risk factors, such as family psychiatric history, socioeconomic status, and other neighborhood-level factors such as population density, deprivation, green space, and social fragmentation.
The team found that each 0.72 micrograms per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 concentration during pregnancy and childhood was associated with an 11 per cent increase in the odds of psychotic experiences and a 9 per cent increase in the odds of depression. In contrast, higher exposure to noise pollution during childhood and adolescence was associated with more anxiety symptoms.
Childhood, adolescence and early adulthood are critical periods for the development of mental disorders, with nearly two-thirds of those affected globally becoming ill by age 25. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence showing the detrimental impact of air pollution (and potentially noise pollution) on mental health.
This is of great concern because air pollution is a very common exposure and levels of mental health problems are rising worldwide. Given that pollution is a preventable exposure, measures to reduce exposure, such as low emission zones, can potentially improve mental health. Targeted measures for vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and children, can also ensure faster reductions in exposure.
It is important to stress that these findings do not in themselves prove a cause and effect relationship. However, other recent studies have shown that low-emission zones appear to have a positive effect on mental health.