Wildfire Smoke Pollution Linked to Higher Suicide Risk in Rural Areas

What is it about?

Air pollution is known to harm physical health, but less is known about its effects on mental health. This study explores the connection between exposure to wildfire smoke and the risk of suicide in the United States from 2007 to 2019. Wildfire smoke days were associated with substantial increases in the amount of fine particulate matter in the air as well as increases in suicide deaths. This effect was only found in rural areas and was most noticeable among specific groups, including men, working-age adults, non-Hispanic Whites, and those without a college education. Urban areas did not show a similar increase in suicide risk due to smoke pollution. In summary, this research reveals that air pollution, especially in rural areas, can contribute to a higher risk of suicide.

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Photo by Marcus Kauffman on Unsplash

Photo by Marcus Kauffman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Most of the global population is regularly exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution. Emerging evidence suggests that this exposure is not only detrimental to physical health but to mental health as well. Using drifting smoke from wildfires as the basis of a natural experiment in the United States, the study provides nationally representative causal evidence that air pollution exposure increases suicide rates, with effects being strongest among rural populations who have a higher baseline risk of suicide and higher exposure to outdoor air. These results provide important insight for identifying and protecting vulnerable groups and for accurately quantifying the full costs of air pollution and wildfires.