Air Pollution and Adolescent Mental Health Research using Linked Administrative Data

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Around 20% of the world's children and adolescents have a mental health condition, with suicide the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds (WHO, n.d.). One in four 17- to 19-year-olds in England had a probable mental disorder in 2022 - an increase from one in six in 2021 (NHS Digital, 2022). Adolescents (14-25) could be a vulnerable group since this is the most common time of onset for mental disorders(Solmi et al., 2021). Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most common mental illnesses (WHO, 2021a) and a major contributor to the overall global burden (WHO, 2021b). This in combination with the unmet needs for mental health care (Patel et al., 2018) emphasise the need for solutions such as decreasing air pollution. The aim of the PhD is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents (aged 10-19 years old) in the UK. This will be achieved by a) Deepening the understanding of the impact of air pollution on common mental health disorders (CMDs) such as anxiety and depression, b) Exploring how these relationships vary by urban/rural regions, sex, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status