This article explores how air pollution impacts brain health and mental well being. Researchers are investigating how inhaled fine particles reach the brain, where they are linked to disorders such as dementia, depression, and stress.

A study conducted in Ottawa shows that breathing polluted air leads to a rise in cortisol, which is the body's primary stress hormone. Another study based near Paris found an increase in psychiatric emergency room admissions on days with poor air quality. Researcher Errol Thomson states that these effects remain present even at low pollution levels, suggesting that everyone is affected.