Environmental Stressors and the PINE Network: Can Physical Environmental Stressors Drive Long-Term Physical and Mental Health Risks?

Nicolas J. C. Stapelberg, Grace Branjerdporn (), Sam Adhikary, Susannah Johnson, Kevin Ashton and John Headrick
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Nicolas J. C. Stapelberg: Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, Gold Coast, QLD 4215, Australia
Grace Branjerdporn: Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, Gold Coast, QLD 4215, Australia
Sam Adhikary: Mater Young Adult Health Centre, Mater Hospital, Brisbane, QID 4101, Australia
Susannah Johnson: Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, Gold Coast, QLD 4215, Australia
Kevin Ashton: Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD 4226, Australia
John Headrick: School of Medical Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QID 4215, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: Both psychosocial and physical environmental stressors have been linked to chronic mental health and chronic medical conditions. The psycho-immune-neuroendocrine (PINE) network details metabolomic pathways which are responsive to varied stressors and link chronic medical conditions with mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder via a network of pathophysiological pathways. The primary objective of this review is to explore evidence of relationships between airborne particulate matter (PM, as a concrete example of a physical environmental stressor), the PINE network and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including mental health sequelae, with a view to supporting the assertion that physical environmental stressors (not only psychosocial stressors) disrupt the PINE network, leading to NCDs. Biological links have been established between PM exposure, key sub-networks of the PINE model and mental health sequelae, suggesting that in theory, long-term mental health impacts of PM exposure may exist, driven by the disruption of these biological networks. This disruption could trans-generationally influence health; however, long-term studies and information on chronic outcomes following acute exposure event are still lacking, limiting what is currently known beyond the acute exposure and all-cause mortality. More empirical evidence is needed, especially to link long-term mental health sequelae to PM exposure, arising from PINE pathophysiology. Relationships between physical and psychosocial stressors, and especially the concept of such stressors acting together to impact on PINE network function, leading to linked NCDs, evokes the concept of syndemics, and these are discussed in the context of the PINE network.

Keywords: psycho-immune-neuroendocrine network; chronic illness risk network; biological networks; metabolomic pathways; mental health; non-communicable disease; biopsychosocial model; syndemic; particulate matter (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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