The quality of air can influence a person's mental health, according to the results of a new study. The research indicates a causal connection between air pollution and suicide rates, suggesting that initiatives to improve air quality can decrease suicide deaths.
Researchers from India and the U.S. who conducted the study found that suicide rates increase substantially when air pollution rises and the effect was particularly strong in the elderly, with older women 2.5 times more at risk than other groups. The study also estimated that China's measures to reduce air pollution in the country have successfully averted 46,000 suicide deaths over five years.
