Abstract
Many studies reveal that air pollution is related to mental health. However, the level of impact and the regulatory mechanism of air pollution on different types of mental health are unknown. This paper examines the heterogeneous impact and mediating mechanisms of air pollution on mental health based on data of 51 countries from 2010 to 2017 by using panel Tobit random effect model, mediating effect model, and bootstrap test. The findings show that, firstly, there is heterogeneous impact of air pollution on different types of mental health. Specifically, air pollution has a significant positive impact on depression; and the impacts on happiness and anxiety are closely related to income level. Secondly, the heterogeneous impact of air pollution on mental health is contingent on income levels. Thirdly, the heterogeneous impacts under different income levels are exacerbated by different levels of education and population density. Lastly, the mediating effect of physical health on different types of mental health is also heterogeneous. To be specific, the effects of air pollution on depression and anxiety are partly mediated by physical health; whereas the effect on happiness is not. These findings contribute to the understanding of air pollution on public health, and have significant implication for social and public health policy makers.
Highlights
Mental health has become an important global public health problem and a prominent social problem especially during the COVID-19 pandemic
These results show that the impact of air pollution on mental health is heterogeneous under different income levels
This paper examined the heterogeneous effects of air pollution on mental health from income, education, indensity, and physical health perspectives
Summary
Mental health has become an important global public health problem and a prominent social problem especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health has significant impacts on daily life. Depression and anxiety are two of the most common and psychological diseases, which affect people’s physical and mental health leading to other disease and social consequences. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 92% of the world’s population was living in an area where air quality exceeds WHO limits [2], which stimulates research on how air pollution affects mental health. Types of mental health refer to happiness, depression and anxiety disorder that are most commonly used by researchers [3,4,5,6]. This research aims to examine the impact of air pollution on different types of mental health and the underlying economic and social factors and the mechanisms. The results will inform policy making for effective prevention and intervention mechanisms of mental health
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
