- 1Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, School of Interdisciplinary Research (SIRe), India (srz228378@iitd.ac.in)
- 2Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, India (sagnik@cas.iitd.ac.in)
- 3Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Centre of Excellence for Research on Clean Air, India (sagnik@cas.iitd.ac.in)
- 4Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, School of Public Policy, India (sagnik@cas.iitd.ac.in)
- 5All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Centre for Community Medicine, India (anand.drk@gmail.com)
- 6St. John's Medical College, Bangalore, India (santu.g@stjohns.in, mat.varg@yahoo.com)
- 7Department of Epidemiology, Centre for Public Health, National Institute of Mental Health, and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (girishnrao@yahoo.com, epiguru1@gmail.com)
- 8Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (vbenegal@gmail.com, mat.varg@yahoo.com )
- 9Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Manipal, India (mat.varg@yahoo.com )
Growing evidence demonstrated that exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases mental health risk via neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. However, less is known about the relative contribution of PM2.5 originating from different emission sources on mental health, such as depression and anxiety, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like India. Therefore, we examined the associations of short- and long-term exposure to total and source-specific PM2.5 with depression and anxiety in Indian adults.
A cross-sectional analysis has been conducted in 12 Indian states using data from the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), 2015-16, a nationally representative and population-based study in India. This study includes a total of 34,357 participants, 18 years and older. The 1-month and 12-month mean exposure to PM2.5 and its source originating from 8 emission sources were assessed using a 1 km x 1 km high-resolution satellite-derived database and the WRF-CMAQ model, respectively, at participants' residential addresses before the NMHS interview date. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 6.0.0 was used to evaluate depression and anxiety disorders in adults. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were estimated for depression and anxiety per IQR increase in PM2.5 using a logistic mixed-effects regression model after adjusting for the individual and household level covariates.
In this study, the weighted prevalence of the current depressive and anxiety disorders among adults was 2.69% (95% CI-2.66-2.72) and 2.96% (95% CI-2.93-2.99), respectively. The estimated mean PM2.5 exposure for 1-month and 12-months was 55.8±19.6 and 44.3±13.5 µg/m3 respectively. Each IQR increase in PM2.5 exposure was significantly and strongly associated with depressive disorder (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.05–1.21) for a 1-month exposure window and anxiety disorder (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.07–1.26) for a 12-month exposure after adjusting for potential confounders. PM2.5 originating from different emission sectors was associated with mental health outcomes, with the strongest associations for power, transport, international transboundary, and domestic sources for at least one health endpoint, whereas agricultural sources showed protective associations with both outcomes. Subgroup analyses showed stronger associations among individuals with lower household incomes and lower education.
Our study suggests that interventions to reduce PM2.5 from key emitting sources may reduce the burden of mental health in India, although cohort studies are recommended to determine the causal relationship.
How to cite: Kundu, P., Dey, S., Krishnan, A., Ghosh, S., N Rao, G., Benegal, V., Varghese, M., and Gururaj, G.: Association between exposure to fine particulate matter from different emission sources and mental health outcomes in India, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-687, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-687, 2025.
