Recent studies suggest that air pollutant exposure may increase the incidence of mental health conditions, however research is limited. We examined the association between ozone (O₃) and fine particles (PM_2.5) and emergency department (ED) visits related to mental health outcomes, including psychosis, neurosis, neurotic/stress, substance use, mood/affective, depression, bipolar, schizotypal/delusional, schizophrenia, self-harm/suicide, and homicide/inflicted injury, from 2005 through 2013 in California. Air monitoring data were provided by the U.S. EPA’s Air Quality System Data Mart and ED data were provided by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. We used the time-series method with a quasi-Poisson regression, controlling for apparent temperature, day of the week, holidays, and seasonal/long-term trends. Per 10 parts per billion increase, we observed significant cumulative 7-day associations between O₃ and all mental health [0.64%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.21, 1.07], depression [1.87%, 95% CI: 0.62, 3.15], self-harm/suicide [1.43%, 95% CI: 0.35, 2.51], and bipolar [2.83%, 95% CI: 1.53, 4.15]. We observed 30-day lag associations between O₃ and neurotic disorder [1.22%, 95% CI: 0.48, 1.97] and homicide/inflicted injury [2.01%, 95% CI: 1.00, 3.02]. Same-day mean PM_2.5 was associated with a 0.42% [95% CI: 0.14, 0.70] increase in all mental health, 1.15% [95% CI: 0.62, 1.69] increase in homicide/inflicted injury, and a 0.57% [95% CI: 0.22, 0.92] increase in neurotic disorders per 10 μg/m³ increase. Other outcomes not listed here were not statistically significant for O₃ or PM_2.5. Risk varied by age group and was generally greater for females, Asians, and Hispanics. We also observed seasonal variation for outcomes including but not limited to depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, self-harm/suicide, and homicide/inflicted injury. Ambient O₃ or PM_2.5 may increase the risk of mental health illness, though underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Findings warrant further investigation to better understand the impacts of air pollutant exposure among vulnerable groups.

Public toilets enable populations, including those who menstruate, to move through public spaces. Menstrual Friendly Public Toilets (MFPT) are accessible, safe, and clean public toilets that provide those who menstruate the space and resources to navigate cities with dignity and comfort. However, there is little evidence on the status of MFPTs in urban centers. This study assessed the menstrual friendly characteristics of public toilets in Barcelona, Kampala, Manila, New York City, Osaka, Rio de Janeiro and quantified the overall "menstrual friendliness" by city and neighborhood type. We conducted public toilet audits in four types of neighborhoods (Business, Tourist, Transit hub, Residential) in each city. The audit tool captured a range of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) characteristics. Aggregate scores ("MFPT Index") were calculated to summarize the menstrual friendliness of public toilets within the neighborhoods and across cities. A total of 181 public toilet audits were analyzed. Areas around Transit hubs had the highest density of toilets, Residential areas were comparatively under resourced, and toilets in Business areas were relatively more "menstrual friendly." The overall mean score for the MFPT Index was 0.67, ranging between 0.49 and 0.79 across cities. Sub-domain scores of the MFPT Index indicated key aspects for improvement in relation to Accessibility, Structure, Privacy/Safety, General Resources, Cleanliness, and MHH Resources. There is a significant gap in the provision of MFPTs in urban centers. Further research is needed to understand the extent of challenges related to accessibility, structural amenities, and availability of MHH-related resources, and how they can best be addressed. Our study's findings underscore the need for the prioritization of MFPTs in public spaces to ensure all individuals have equitable access to manage their menstrual cycles.

There is limited knowledge on the relationship between neighborhood factors and mental health among displaced disaster survivors, particularly among women. Hurricane Katrina (Katrina) was the largest internal displacement in the United States (U.S.), which presented itself as a natural experiment. We examined the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health among women up to 10 years following Katrina (N = 394). We also investigated whether this association was modified by move status, comparing women who were permanently displaced to those who had returned to their pre-Katrina residence. We used hierarchical linear models to measure this association, using data from the American Community Survey and the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health study. Neighborhood SES was created as an index which represented social and economic characteristics of participants’ neighborhoods. Mental health was measured using mental component summary (MCS) scores. Increased neighborhood SES was positively associated with mental health after controlling for age, race/ethnicity, economic positioning, time, and move status (19.6, 95% Confidence Interval: 5.8, 33.7). Neighborhood SES and mental health was also modified by move status. These findings underscore the need to better understand the impacts of socioeconomic conditions and health outcomes among women affected by natural disasters.

Purpose: Given sexual minority youth (SMY) are disproportionately impacted by teen dating violence (TDV), this study assessed binge drinking and depression symptoms as possible risk factors contributing to this disparity. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of SMY high school students in the United States in 2017 and 2019 through the national Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) (n = 3,424) was used to create 3 logistic regression models. The models estimated the associations between the exposures, binge drinking and depression symptoms, and TDV, including physical TDV, sexual TDV, or both. Additionally, we hypothesized that these associations would be stronger in SMY than heterosexual youth. Therefore, we expanded the study population to include SMY and heterosexual youth (n = 22,798) and tested for interaction. Results: Both binge drinking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8–3.8) and symptoms of depression (aOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.8–4.02) were positively associated with TDV among SMY. Additionally, binge drinking was associated with a significantly greater risk of victimization for SMY (aOR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.9–3.9) than heterosexual youth (aOR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2–2.0). Conclusions: Our results suggest that while both exposures are associated with an increased risk of both physical and sexual TDV, binge drinking may contribute to the disparate rates of dating violence impacting SMY.