Home Medicine The association of particulate matter PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides from ambient air pollution and mental health of children and young adults- a systematic review
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The association of particulate matter PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides from ambient air pollution and mental health of children and young adults- a systematic review

  • Fatima A. Mazahir ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Ankita Shukla and Najwa A. Albastaki
Published/Copyright: March 14, 2025
Reviews on Environmental Health
From the journal Reviews on Environmental Health Volume 40 Issue 3

Abstract

Introduction

The developing brain, especially vulnerable during neuroplastic phases, is influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Understanding the impacts of air pollution on children’s and young adults’ mental health is an emerging research field.

Content

This review systematically examines the adverse associations of ambient air pollutants on mental health. A database search using Scopus, EMBASE, Global Health, and PsycINFO included articles from 2013 onwards, following PRISMA guidelines. Of the 787 identified articles, 62 met the inclusion criteria. Quality was assessed using the EPHPP tool, and Best Evidence Synthesis (BES) evaluated the findings.

Summary

The review found 36 associations between ambient air pollutants and adverse mental health outcomes across seven life-course exposure periods. Strong evidence linked early-life PM2.5 and NO2 exposures to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and childhood exposures to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Significant, though inconsistent, associations were found between air pollutants and cognitive impairments, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and other behavioral problems. The heterogeneity of exposure limits and lack of experimental studies hinder causal assessment.

Outlook

Compelling evidence links early-life and childhood exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 with ASD and ADHD. These findings highlight the need for public health policy changes and further research to explore these associations comprehensively.

Keywords: ambient air pollution; children’s mental health; pediatrics and adolescents; climate change; environmental health; public health
Corresponding Author: Dr. Fatima A. Mazahir, Pediatric Department, Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, Dubai Academic Health Corporation (Dubai Health), Oud Metha Street Dubai, United Arab Emirates, E-mail:

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: Dr Fatima A. Mazahir conceptualized and designed the study, designed the data collection instruments, collected data, performed quality assessment, carried out the initial analyses, drafted the initial manuscript, and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript. Ankita Shukla, collected data, performed quality assessment, carried out the initial analyses and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript. Dr Najwa A. Al Bastaki supervised the study, critically reviewed and revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: None declared.

  7. Data availability: Not applicable.

Appendix 1

Database name: OVID embase. Search date: 08th August 2023
S. No. Search term Hits
1 Exp nitrogen dioxide/or exp air pollution/or exp ambient air/or exp particulate matter/ 264,882
2 Air pollution.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, drug trade name, original title, device manufacturer, drug manufacturer, device trade name, keyword heading word, floating subheading word, candidate term word] 118,409
3 Greenhouse gas*.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, drug trade name, original title, device manufacturer, drug manufacturer, device trade name, keyword heading word, floating subheading word, candidate term word] 19,913
4 Particulate matter.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, drug trade name, original title, device manufacturer, drug manufacturer, device trade name, keyword heading word, floating subheading word, candidate term word] 78,377
5 Nitrogen dioxide.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, drug trade name, original title, device manufacturer, drug manufacturer, device trade name, keyword heading word, floating subheading word, candidate term word] 20,155
6 Exp mental health/or exp mental disease/ 2,918,518
7 Exp suicide/or exp suicide attempt/or exp suicidal behavior/or exp suicidal ideation/ 133,262
8 self?harm.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, drug trade name, original title, device manufacturer, drug manufacturer, device trade name, keyword heading word, floating subheading word, candidate term word] 327
9 Exp child/ 3,512,517
10 Exp adolescent/or exp adolescence/ 1,976,699
11 Young people.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, drug trade name, original title, device manufacturer, drug manufacturer, device trade name, keyword heading word, floating subheading word, candidate term word] 52,856
12 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 289,986
13 6 or 7 or 8 2,918,537
14 9 or 10 or 11 4,499,279
15 12 and 13 and 14 1,311
16 Limit 15 to English language 1,243
17 Limit 16 to human 1,148
18 Limit 17 to full text 379
19 Limit 18 to yr=“2013 – current” 274
Database name: OVID global health. Search date: 08th August 2023
S. No. Search term Hits
1 Exp air pollution/or exp air pollutants/or exp factory fumes/or exp greenhouse effect/or exp nitrogen oxides/ 61,374
2 Air pollution.mp. 34,525
3 Greenhouse gas*.mp. or greenhouse gases.sh. or air pollutants.sh. 25,247
4 Particulate matter.mp. or exp particulate matter/ 15,619
5 Nitrogen dioxide.mp. or exp nitrogen dioxide/ 4,385
6 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 65,522
7 Exp mental health/or exp mental disorders/ 116,118
8 Exp autism/or autis*.mp. 4,240
9 Exp attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.mp. 2,913
10 Cognitive impairment.mp. 7,478
11 Behavioral disorders.mp. or behaviour disorders.sh. or mental disorders.sh. or behaviour problems.sh. or abnormal behaviour.sh. or mental health.sh. 91,307
12 Exp suicide/or exp suicidal ideation/ 10,776
13 self?harm.mp. 8
14 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12 or 13 130,210
15 child.mp. or exp children/ 407,927
16 Exp adolescents/ 82,992
17 Young people.mp. or youth.sh. 28,324
18 15 or 16 or 17 418,284
19 6 and 14 and 18 276
20 Limit 19 to English language 266
21 Limit 20 to full text & cab full text 91
22 Limit 21 to yr=“2013 – current” 80
Database name: OVID PsychINFO. Search date: 08th August 2023
S. No. Search term Hits
1 Exp pollution/or air pollution.mp. 2,851
2 Greenhouse gas*.mp. or greenhouse gases.sh. 486
3 Particulate matter.mp. or exp particulate matter/ 535
4 Nitrogen dioxide.mp. or exp nitrogen dioxide/ 109
5 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 3,473
6 Exp mental health/or exp mental disorders/ 1,098,621
7 Exp autism/or autis*.mp. 70,050
8 Exp attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.mp. 31,006
9 Cognitive impairment.mp. 63,515
10 Behavioral disorders.mp. or behaviour disorders.sh. or mental disorders.sh. or behaviour problems.sh. or abnormal behaviour.sh. or mental health.sh. 181,137
11 Exp suicide/or exp suicidal ideation/ 40,362
12 self?harm.mp. 29
13 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12 1,160,851
14 child.mp. or exp children/ 527,407
15 Young people.mp. or youth.sh. 35,856
16 Exp adolescent development/or exp adolescent attitudes/or adolescen*.mp. [mp=title, abstract, heading word, table of contents, key concepts, original title, tests & measures, mesh word] 522,653
17 14 or 15 or 16 894,121
18 5 and 13 and 17 76
19 Limit 18 to English language 74
20 Limit 19 to (full text and human) 23
21 Limit 20 to yr=“2013 – current” 14
Database name: Scopus. Search date: 08th August 2023
S. No. Search term Hits
1 (TITLE-ABS-KEY ( “air pollution”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“air pollutants”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (greenhouse*) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“nitrogen oxides”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“particulate matter”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (“mental health”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“mental disorders”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (autis*) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“cognitive impairment”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“behavioral disorder”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“behavioural problems”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (suicide) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“suicidal ideation”) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (“self harm”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (child) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (children) OR TITLE-ABS-KEY (adolescen*) ) AND PUBYEAR>2012 AND (LIMIT-TO ( LANGUAGE, “English”) 582

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2024-0120)

Received: 2024-07-31
Accepted: 2025-01-06
Published Online: 2025-03-14
Published in Print: 2025-09-25

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Reviews
  3. The association of particulate matter PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides from ambient air pollution and mental health of children and young adults- a systematic review
  4. Plant endophytic bacteria reduce phthalates accumulation in soil-crop-body system: a review
  5. A review in analytical progress for house dust mite allergens
  6. Global research trends and emerging hotspots in acute high altitude illness: a bibliometric analysis and review (1937–2024)
  7. Sustainable materials and energy from pine needle waste – a review
  8. Interrelation between prenatal mercury-selenium exposure and glutathione gene polymorphism: impact on growth and development in children
  9. Connecting the dots: environmental pollution and Autism Spectrum Disorder
  10. Phthalates, bisphenols and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances migration from food packaging into food: a systematic review
  11. Dietary intake of dioxins and cancer – where do we stand?
  12. Unfinished business: formaldehyde exposure from uniforms and the case for U.S. textile regulation
  13. A mini-review on the health risks associated with sodium p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzene sulfonate exposure
  14. Maternal exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen oxides during pregnancy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis
https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2024-0120
Keywords for this article
ambient air pollution; children’s mental health; pediatrics and adolescents; climate change; environmental health; public health

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Reviews
  3. The association of particulate matter PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides from ambient air pollution and mental health of children and young adults- a systematic review
  4. Plant endophytic bacteria reduce phthalates accumulation in soil-crop-body system: a review
  5. A review in analytical progress for house dust mite allergens
  6. Global research trends and emerging hotspots in acute high altitude illness: a bibliometric analysis and review (1937–2024)
  7. Sustainable materials and energy from pine needle waste – a review
  8. Interrelation between prenatal mercury-selenium exposure and glutathione gene polymorphism: impact on growth and development in children
  9. Connecting the dots: environmental pollution and Autism Spectrum Disorder
  10. Phthalates, bisphenols and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances migration from food packaging into food: a systematic review
  11. Dietary intake of dioxins and cancer – where do we stand?
  12. Unfinished business: formaldehyde exposure from uniforms and the case for U.S. textile regulation
  13. A mini-review on the health risks associated with sodium p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzene sulfonate exposure
  14. Maternal exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen oxides during pregnancy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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