Lifetime Residential Air Pollution Exposure, Amygdala Volumes, and Emotional Function in Young Adults
Year: 2022
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background: Air pollution (AP) exposure at differing timepoints across life has been linked to adverse mental health conditions. However, the effects of lifetime exposure to AP on emotional behavior and related functional regions of the brain are not well understood. Therefore, we investigated the effect of lifetime AP exposure on emotional behaviors and associated amygdala volumes in young adults. Methods: We recruited 39 participants in a follow up to the Children’s Health Study. We performed structural brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and assessed emotional behavior using the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment Adult Self Report questionnaire. Lifetime exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5µm (PM₂.₅) and <10µm (PM₁₀), ozone (O₃), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were assessed using inverse distance square weighted interpolation from ambient monitoring data and the Di et al. (2019, 2020) and Requia et al. (2020) spatiotemporal models. We fit linear regression models to estimate the association between lifetime AP exposure (from birth to ~21 years at MRI scan) and emotional behaviors and amygdala volumes, adjusting for key covariates. Results: Participants were largely Hispanic (38%) and Non-Hispanic White (44%), with a mean (SD) age of 21.6 (0.9) years. We found a SD increase in PM₂.₅,sptmp was associated with a 100.60 mm³ (95% CI: 13.76 –187.45) increase in total amygdala volume after accounting for total cranial volume, which remained after adjustment for O₃,sptmp. Additionally, a SD increase in O₃,sptmp (β = 12.53, 95% CI: 5.31 -19.74; p =0.001), PM₁₀ (β = 17.01, 9.67 –24.34; p <0.001), and PM₂.₅ (β = 11.58, 4.20 –18.96; p =0.003) was significantly associated with greater total emotional problems. Conclusion: Lifetime exposure to ambient air pollution is linked to both structural differences in the key emotional brain region of the amygdala as well as greater impairments in emotional functioning in early adulthood.
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Authors: Karl O'Sharkey, Claire Campbell, Kimberley Felix, Joel Schwartz, Fred Lurmann, Nathan Pavlovic, Rob McConnell, Rima Habre, Megan Herting
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4317178364