Air pollution linked to severe mental illnesses

ecowatch.com

26 points·elenaturner··5 comments

I don't think modern medicine is prepared to treat environmental disease. How do you treat the effects of living in a polluted city? Should your doctor tell you to move to the countryside, or protest for environmental protection?

I would presume that if you can't move out, perhaps they'd prescribe an air purifier.

Turns out we have devices that can control the environment to some degree.

-------

EDIT: I also believe that the topic of air pollution and its effects on people is an OSHA issue, not so much a medicine issue. Regulations exist to reduce the air pollution from plants (ex: why coal is so expensive these days), and workplaces (again: why coal is so expensive). We've found lower pollution sources of energy, such as natural gas.

Governments too can actually play vital role by initiating projects like planting more trees and controlling industrial waste that contributes to air pollution.

I wonder if the study controlled for the fact that psychiatrists almost exclusively office in the biggest cities in a nation?

I guaranty you, that if you are suffering mental illness in Wyoming, you will have to leave Wyoming to find a psychiatrist -- and likely would not be counted in such a study. Ergo, Wyoming is free of mental illness.

FWIW Wyoming is full of smoke from California right now. It isn't as dense as it is in California though. It was really bad in Nevada and parts of Utah. Still very valid points though.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com