By Michael Graham Richard / Source: TreeHugger

On top of respiratory and cardiovascular problems…

Yesterday, I wrote about how a minority of cars are causing about 90% of air pollution from vehicles. We all know that dirty air is a killer, attacking your respiratory system and your heart. But more evidence is piling up that it’s also bad for your mental health.

A study of 70,000 women between the ages of 57 and 85 shows that there’s a significant link between exposure to air pollution and anxiety. The researchers used current and previous addresses of the participants in the study to estimate exposure to air pollution (for example, someone living close to a highway or an industrial park). The culprit seems to be small particles, which can travel deeper in our lungs, not large ones; women who were exposed to them one month before their anxiety test were about 12% more likely to have high anxiety symptoms compared to the women estimated to be exposed to the least particles one month previously.

Read more @ TreeHugger