Health Analysis Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
Hazard Identification Division, Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
Health Rep. 2020 Jul 29;31(7):3-11. doi: 10.25318/82-003-x202000700001-eng.
A growing number of epidemiological studies have linked air pollution exposure to psychological conditions. Laboratory studies indicate that air pollutants can activate the neuroendocrine stress axis and modulate stress hormone levels, which could contribute to the development or exacerbation of psychological distress. The present study examined the spatial associations between air pollutants (fine particulate matter [PM], nitrogen dioxide [NO] and ground-level ozone [O]) and psychological distress among subjects in the most populous provinces in Canada.
Subjects were sampled from the Canadian Community Health Survey in three regions (Quebec in 2005 [n=25,800], British Columbia and Alberta in 2005 [n=23,000], and Ontario in 2011 [n=36,000]), and were assigned estimates of annual exposure to three ambient air pollutants (PM, NO and O) for the same years. Individual psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), based on anxiety and depressive symptoms in the past month. Regression models (both ordinary least squares and simultaneous autoregressive models) were applied to estimate associations between K10 distress scores and each air pollutant, after adjusting for individual (demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural) and neighbourhood covariates..
Psychological distress was positively associated with PM and NO in all three regions, and with O in Quebec. However, after further adjusting for individual and neighbourhood covariates, the associations between distress and air pollution remained statistically significant only in Quebec.
Some evidence for positive associations between psychological distress and ambient air pollution after adjusting for spatial autocorrelation was found.
越来越多的流行病学研究表明，空气污染暴露与心理状况有关。实验室研究表明，空气污染物可以激活神经内分泌应激轴并调节应激激素水平，这可能导致或加剧心理困扰。本研究检测了加拿大人口最多的三个省份（魁北克省[2005 年]、不列颠哥伦比亚省和艾伯塔省[2005 年]、安大略省[2011 年]）中，空气污染物（细颗粒物[PM]、二氧化氮[NO]和地面臭氧[O]）与心理困扰之间的空间关联。
从加拿大社区健康调查中抽取了三个地区的受试者（2005 年魁北克省[25800 人]、2005 年不列颠哥伦比亚省和艾伯塔省[23000 人]、2011 年安大略省[36000 人]），并为他们分配了同年三种环境空气污染物（PM、NO 和 O）的年暴露量估算值。个体心理困扰程度采用 Kessler 心理困扰量表（K10）进行评估，该量表基于过去一个月的焦虑和抑郁症状。在调整个体（人口统计学、社会经济和行为）和邻里协变量后，应用普通最小二乘法和同时自回归模型回归模型，估计 K10 困扰评分与每种空气污染物之间的关联。
在所有三个地区，心理困扰与 PM 和 NO 呈正相关，与 O 在魁北克呈正相关。然而，在进一步调整个体和邻里协变量后，只有在魁北克，困扰与空气污染之间的关联仍具有统计学意义。
在调整空间自相关后，发现心理困扰与环境空气污染之间存在一些正相关的证据。
