Association between particulate matter air pollution and risk of depression and suicide: a systematic review and meta-analysis

An increasing number of studies examined the potential effects of ambient particulate matter (PM: PM 2.5 and PM 10 —PMs with diameters not greater than 2.5 and 10 μm, respectively) pollution on the risk of depression and suicide; however, the results have been inconclusive. This study aimed to determine the overall relationship between PM exposure and depression/suicide based on current evidence. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of current available studies. Thirty articles (20 for depression and 10 for suicide) with data from 1,447,313 participants were included in the meta-analysis. For a 10 μg/m 3 increase in short-term exposure to PM 2.5 , we found a 2% ( p