Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China

Frontiers in Public Health

article

Weifang Zhang¹  Sihui Peng²  Jialu Fu¹  Ke Xu³  Huihui Wang¹  Yu Jin⁴  Tingzhong Yang⁵  Randall R. Cottrell⁶ 

[1] The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province;School of Medicine, Jinan University;Epidemiology Department, Emory University, United States;Zhejiang University Educational Foundation;Women' s Hospital/Center for Tobacco Control Research, Zhejiang University School of Medicine;Public Health Program, School of Health and Applied Human Sciences, University of North Carolina, United States

关键词: air pollution;    mental stress;    public health;    environmental policy;    university students;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2021.685431

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: Studies exploring the relationship between air pollution levels and mental stress have rarely been done, and no studies have been done comparing university student mental stress levels based on regional air pollution levels. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between air pollution and mental stress among university students. Methods: Participants were 11,942 students, who were identified through a multistage survey sampling process conducted in 50 universities. Regional air pollution levels were retrieved from a national database, and mental stress was measured using a perceived stress scale. Both unadjusted and adjusted methods were utilized in the data analyses. Results: Mental stress prevalence was 36.9% (95% Confidence Interval: 24.4–49.5%). The final model indicated that regional air pollution levels were positively associated with students' mental stress. Conclusions: This study provided new and direct evidence of the health hazards of air pollution. The findings underscore the need to develop and implement stringent environmental protection policies, while simultaneously raising public awareness of environmental protection.

【 授权许可】

CC BY