 Air pollution and mental health: Evidence from China Health and Nutrition SurveyFanglin Chen, Xin Zhang and Zhongfei Chen Journal of Asian Economics, 2023, vol. 86, issue C Abstract: Using the mental health data of the elderly in China Health and Nutrition Survey and city-level air pollution data, this paper empirically analyzes the influence of air pollution on the mental health of the elderly. Results show that with the aggravation of air pollution, the mental health of the elderly decreases significantly. Specifically, a 10 μg/m3 increase in air pollution causes a decrease of 2.43 points in mental health. Air pollution has a greater effect on males, rural residents, and low-income and low-education groups. In addition, this paper tests two mechanisms, namely, health status and individual activity, and finds that air pollution can reduce mental health by increasing the incidence and severity of disease. Moreover, the intensification of air pollution leads the elderly to prefer indoor activities. Based on individual data, this paper estimates the health effects of air pollution, which provides a basis for the formulation of environmental and health policies. Keywords: PM2.5; Air pollution; Mental health; Elderly population (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:asieco:v:86:y:2023:i:c:s1049007823000313 DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2023.101611 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Asian Economics is currently edited by C. Wiemer More articles in Journal of Asian Economics from Elsevier |
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