World Health Day - Air pollution could damage mental health and lead to depression, warn scientists

Buying an air purifier is a proactive step to create a safer, pollution-free environment at home
Mumbai, April 6, 2017: World Health Day, celebrated every year on April 7, provides us with an opportunity to organize action around a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The theme for this year’s campaign is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders– ‘Depression’.

Depression, anxiety, memory loss, poor academic performance – these are just some of the things that scientists have connected to air pollution in recent years. While the connection between poor air quality and increasing risk of stroke, heart attack and lung disease is more apparent, air pollution could also have an adverse impact on our brains, ultimately leading to learning problems and even depression.

A team of Oxford University scientists discovered that tiny magnetic particles lodged in human brains as a result of air pollution could be a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease. Similarly, researchers at the Ohio State University carried out tests and showed that, in the long term, dirty air could cause actual physical changes to the brain.

While we are unable to improve the air outside, we can take proactive, individual steps to head off airborne pollutants to create safer indoor environments by investing in indoor air purifiers that remove contaminants.

Trying to bring people’s attention towards the indoor air pollution problem, Mr. Girish Bapat, Director - West and South Asia Region at Blueair, said, “Outdoor air pollution problems are already being addressed by the government of India. However, it is crucial to start talking more about indoor air pollution which is a more serious and potentially fatal problem and given that indoors is where we spend 90% of our time. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be two to four times, and occasionally up to hundred times, more polluted than outdoor air.”

Further, Blueair, a world leader in innovative indoor air purification technologies and solutions, wants to highlight the importance of understanding air pollution as a year-round problem, not just during the festival of Diwali. In fact, according to a Greenpeace report, none of the 168 major cities in India comply with World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality standards.

“A problem in India is that not everyone realises that air pollution is a year around problem, both indoors and outdoors. Even though many cities are affected by bad air quality, people rush to buy air purifiers only during Diwali. For example, last year air purifier sales shot up 400 percent during Diwali”, added Mr. Bapat.

Blueair states that its technology can help people in cities and the countryside to fight air pollution, and improve their overall health and mental wellbeing - every day of the year, all year round.