Compared to women and older people, men and younger people appeared to be more vulnerable to environmental toxicants.
- According to a recent study, 27 chemical compounds or metals in six of ten categories of environmental toxicants are linked to depressive symptoms.
- Peripheral white blood cell counts accounted for 5–19% of the associations.
- Men and young people appear to be more vulnerable to environmental toxicants than women and older people.
Is there an association between environmental toxic substances and depressive symptoms in adults? This is the question that researchers from Peking University (China) asked themselves. To answer this question, they conducted a study, the results of which were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
A link between 27 environmental chemicals and the presence of depressive symptoms
For the study, the authors used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, which included 3,427 adults. The team examined information on their blood or urine concentrations of environmental toxicants and their depression scores, assessed by nine items. In parallel, 62 environmental toxicants were classified into 10 categories, which included acrylamide, arsenic, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, iodine, heavy metals, nicotine metabolites, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compound (VOC) metabolites, and perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate.
Of the 3,427 people, 1,735 were women, 2,683 were under 65 years of age, and 744 were 65 years of age or older, including 839 with depressive symptoms. The scientists identified associations between 27 chemical compounds or metals in six of the 10 environmental toxicant categories and the prevalence of depressive symptoms, including the volatile organic compound metabolites N-acetyl-S-(2-hydroxy-3-butenyl)-L-cysteine and total nicotine equivalent-2 (odds ratios, 1.74 and 1.42, respectively). “Systemic inflammation assessed by peripheral white blood cell counts mediated 5–19% of the associations,” can be read in the results.
Men and young people more vulnerable to environmental toxic substances
According to the team, men and young people appear to be more vulnerable to environmental toxicants than women and older people. “This research highlights the importance of preventing and regulating important environmental toxicants in order to gain new insights into the prevention and potentially treatment of depression,” concluded the researchers
