Air Pollution and Mental Health of Older Adults in China

Yishu Zhou,Jingyi Liu

doi:10.3390/su12030950

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the association between air pollution and the mental health and depression of older adults in China. Along with the rapid economic development, concerns about air pollution and recognition of the importance of mental health have risen remarkably in China. Although no firm evidence of an association between air pollution and overall mental health has been found, the results show significant evidence of a positive relationship between air pollution and depression. Moreover, we observe the presence of concerns about environmental inequality, as people are more sensitive to contaminations caused by pollutants with high variation in densities across counties, such as PM2.5, PM10, and SO2. Although O3 has a high average absolute density, the impact on mental health is low due to the limited variations nationwide. Physical fitness, gender, relative income, marital status, and social contacts are also found to be related to mental health and depression of older adults.

Highlights

As the second-largest economy in the world, China has experienced fast−paced growth in the past decades
We examine the association between air pollution and the mental health of older adults in China
As a result of the rapid economic development and industrialization, the issues about both air pollution and population aging have emerged in China

Summary

Introduction

As the second-largest economy in the world, China has experienced fast−paced growth in the past decades. With the development of medical facilities and greater coverage of public health insurance, life expectancy in China has grown steadily from 69.29 in 1990 to 76.25 in 2016 Both the number and percentage of older adults in the population are projected to continue to increase substantially in the future [3]. Among research on mental health in China, [8,9] explore the paradox of progress, i.e., falling happiness in a rising economy They found that people may be less satisfied and more depressed even with an increase in income if their relative income has fallen in comparison to their peer group. We examine the association between air pollution and the mental health of older adults in China.

Methodology

Baseline Model

Robustness Check

Conclusions and Discussion

Methods