Particulate air pollution (PM) is a mixture of heterogenous components from natural and anthropogenic sources and contributes to a variety of serious illnesses, including neurological and behavioral effects, as well as millions of premature deaths. Ultrafine (PM_0.1) and fine-size ambient particles (PM_2.5) can enter the circulatory system and cross the blood–brain barrier or enter through the optic nerve, and then upregulate inflammatory markers and increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the brain. Toxic and neurotoxic metals such as manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and barium (Ba) can adsorb to the PM surface and potentially contribute to the neurotoxic effects associated with PM exposure. Epidemiological studies have shown a negative relationship between exposure to PM-associated Mn and neurodevelopment amongst children, as well as impaired dexterity in the elderly. Inhaled PM-associated Cu has also been shown to impair motor performance and alter basal ganglia in schoolchildren. This paper provides a brief review of the epidemiological and toxicological studies published over the last five years concerning inhaled PM, PM-relevant metals, neurobiology, and mental health outcomes. Given the growing interest in mental health and the fact that 91% of the world’s population is considered to be exposed to unhealthy air, more research on PM and PM-associated metals and neurological health is needed for future policy decisions and strategic interventions to prevent public harm.

This study seeks to identify differences in mental health and social well-being during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults by rural/urban location.We use data from the COVI...

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and destructive due to climate change and have been shown to be associated with a variety of adverse mental health outcomes in children and adolescents. This study utilizes data from three cohort studies of Hurricane Katrina survivors—including low-income mothers from New Orleans; displaced and highly impacted families from Louisiana and Mississippi; and Vietnamese immigrants in New Orleans—to examine the relationship between cumulative natural disaster exposure and adolescent psychological distress approximately 13 years after Katrina. Among 648 respondents with children ages 10-17, 112 (17.2%) reported that their child had exhibited one or more symptoms of psychological distress in the past month. Overall, respondents had experienced an average of 0.6 (SD 1.0) natural disasters following Hurricane Katrina. Each additional natural disaster experienced by the respondent was associated with 1.41 (95% CI 1.05, 1.88) greater odds of his or child experiencing psychological distress in the past month. This relationship was not significantly moderated by any measures of family resilience or vulnerability, nor by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status, although family functioning, parental coping, and caregiver mental health were independently associated with adolescent psychological distress. The results of this analysis suggest that natural disasters have cumulative, detrimental impacts on adolescent mental health.

Non-adherence to COVID-19 guidelines may be attributable to low levels of worry. This study assessed whether endorsing COVID-19-stigmatizing restrictions, COVID-19 knowledge, and preferred news source were associated with being ‘very worried’ versus ‘not at all’ or ‘somewhat’ worried about contracting COVID-19. Survey data were collected in July–August 2020 from N = 547 New York State (NYS) and N = 504 national Amazon MTurk workers. Respondents who endorsed COVID-19 stigmatizing restrictions (NYS OR 1.96; 95% CI 1.31, 2.92; national OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.06, 3.08) and consumed commercial news (NYS OR 1.89; 95% CI 1.21, 2.96; national OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.24, 3.00) were more likely to be very worried. National respondents who consumed The New York Times (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.00, 2.29) were more likely to be very worried, while those with little knowledge (OR 0.24; 95% CI 0.13, 0.43) were less likely to be very worried. NYS (OR 2.66; 95% CI 1.77, 4.00) and national (OR 3.17; 95% CI 1.95, 5.16) respondents with probable depression were also more likely to be very worried. These characteristics can help identify those requiring intervention to maximize perceived threat to COVID-19 and encourage uptake of protective behaviors while protecting psychological wellbeing.

Even though vaccination is the most effective measure against COVID-19 infections, vaccine rollout efforts have been hampered by growing anti-vaccine attitudes. Based on current knowledge, we identified three domains (beliefs, discrimination, and news) as our correlates of primary interest to examine the association with anti-vaccine attitudes. This is one of the first studies to examine key correlates of anti-vaccine attitudes during the critical early stages of vaccine implementation in the United States. An online survey was administered in May 2021 to a non-representative, nationally based sample of adults (N = 789). Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we found that individuals who expressed worry about COVID-19 (OR = 0.34, 95% CI 0.21, 0.55) and had greater knowledge of COVID-19 (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.25, 0.99) were less likely to hold anti-vaccine attitudes. Conversely, individuals who held stigmatizing views of COVID-19 (OR = 2.47, 95% CI 1.53, 3.99), had experienced racial discrimination (OR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.25, 3.67) and discrimination related to COVID-19 (OR = 2.84, 95% CI 1.54, 5.24), and who had been watching Fox News (OR = 3.95, 95% CI 2.61, 5.97) were more likely to hold anti-vaccine attitudes. These findings suggest COVID-19 beliefs, experiences of discrimination, and news sources should be considered when designing targeted approaches to address the anti-vaccine movement.