Impact of Air Quality on Mental Health of Higher Education Students

The decrease in air quality in cities is now an object of concern, as a large part of the population lives in these areas. Problems related to mental health are on the rise. Around 20% of children and adolescents worldwide have some mental health problem, with suicide being the second leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29. This study aimed to evaluate the air quality in two distinct areas in Portugal and to analyze its impact on the mental health of higher education students. Data collection consisted in assessment of air quality, in two different areas of one municipality of Portugal, a green one, with no traffic and characterized by being a forested area and one with the presence of road traffic. The second moment consisted of the application of a questionnaire addressed to all university students who participated in the study. We found that in both areas, PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the exposure limit value and PM10 only exceeded the limit value in the area with traffic. It was found that students had higher values of negative emotional symptoms in the zone with road traffic, when compared to the green zone. The monitoring of atmospheric pollutants is a fundamental tool in the identification, assessment and resolution of air quality problems, quantifying the levels of atmospheric pollutants and ensuring that they are within the limits tolerated by human health and ecosystems, through the implementation of measures within the scope of air quality management.