Mental health impacts of particulate matter exposure and non-optimal temperature among rural and urban children in eastern China.

Yangyang Wu, Jing Wei, Biran Cheng, Hong Sun, Yidong Zhou, Chen Li, Peng Wang, Hao Zhang, Yiyi Wang, Lei Huang, Kai Chen
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Abstract

Over 100 million children worldwide suffer from mental distress, with incidence rates steadily increasing. However, the combined impacts of air pollution and non-optimal temperature on schoolchildren's mental health, as well as the disparities across urban and rural schools and between genders, remain insufficiently explored. Utilizing 95,658 mental distress records from school children in eastern China, we developed nine composite exposure scenarios to evaluate the mental health impacts of short-term (0-14 days) exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution (i.e., PM1, PM2.5, PM10), average temperature, and temperature variability (including both intra-day and inter-day temperature fluctuations). We found that children's mental distress was significantly associated with PM pollution, particularly in urban schools, with rising risk trends and intensified hazards for finer particles (PM10 < PM2.5 < PM1). For each 10 μg/m³ increase, the relative risks of mental distress absenteeism for PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 were 1.017, 1.011, and 1.008, respectively. Polluted days coupled with warming temperature >10 °C and large intra-day (>10 °C) and inter-day fluctuations (<-2.5 or >0 °C) consistently exhibited higher and increasing risks, with relative risks ranging from 1.031 to 1.534 (p < 0.05). Girls, constituting 61.4% of the cases examined, exhibited greater vulnerability than boys, with higher threats and rising trends across all scenarios. Among the affected children, 77.9% didn't receive medical assistance. Given the global warming trend, it's crucial to address the combined impacts of extreme weather and PM pollution on schoolchildren's mental health, particularly for girls and in rapidly urbanizing areas.

中国东部城乡儿童颗粒物暴露和非最适温度对心理健康的影响
全世界有1亿多儿童患有精神疾病,发病率稳步上升。然而,空气污染和非最佳温度对学童心理健康的综合影响,以及城乡学校之间和性别之间的差异,仍未得到充分探讨。利用95,658份来自中国东部学龄儿童的精神困扰记录,我们开发了9种复合暴露情景,以评估短期(0-14天)暴露于颗粒物(PM)空气污染(即PM1、PM2.5、PM10)、平均温度和温度变化(包括日间和日间温度波动)对心理健康的影响。我们发现,儿童的精神困扰与PM污染显著相关,特别是在城市学校,风险趋势上升,细颗粒物(PM10 2.5 1)的危害加剧。PM1、PM2.5和PM10每增加10 μg/m³,精神痛苦缺勤的相对风险分别为1.017、1.011和1.008。污染日加上变暖的温度>0°C和较大的日间(>0°C)和日间波动(0°C)始终表现出更高和不断增加的风险,相对风险范围为1.031至1.534 (p
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