Long-term PM2.5 Exposure and Mental Health Disparities: A Prospective Analysis of the All of Us Research Program

Abstract

Evaluates the association between long-term fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and incident depression and anxiety in a large, diverse cohort, and whether that association is modified by race/ethnicity, insurance status and neighbourhood-level socioeconomic status. Using All of Us Research Program data (2018–2022), two cohorts of more than 100,000 each were analysed with Cox proportional hazards models and natural cubic splines. For a 10 µg/m³ increase in PM2.5 the hazard ratio was 2.14 (95% CI 1.41–3.24) for anxiety and 1.66 (95% CI 1.02–2.70) for depression.