Prevention & lipidsCohort study

Interplay between mental health, greenness, and environmental factors in cardiovascular mortality: insights from AIR-MIND

Eur J Prev CardiolPublished

  • Nationwide registry-based cohort study
  • negative binomial regression
  • interaction terms and stratified analyses

Authors' conclusion

The findings indicate multidimensional interactions between AP exposure, mental health, and SES conditions in shaping mortality risk. Greater access to mental health services modified the effects of environmental exposures, attenuating the associated risk. Socioeconomic status and greenness exposure might be associated with heterogeneous modifying effects, but seem predominantly to reduce risk.

Study context

Population
Nationwide population, individual health data, 2011–2020400 million person-years
Exposure
Long-term exposure to air pollution, greenness and mental health service use vs lower exposure
Outcome
CVD mortality associated with long-term air pollution exposure (RR per 10 µg/m³ annual increase in PM₂.₅, NO₂, CO; per 1 µg/m³ SO₂)

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

CVD mortality per annual increase in air pollutant
Relative risk (95% CI)P value
PM₂.₅per 10 µg/m³
1.023(1.012–1.035)
P < 0.001
NO₂per 10 µg/m³
1.111(1.072–1.151)
P < 0.001
SO₂per 1 µg/m³
1.081(1.030–1.134)
P < 0.001
COper 10 µg/m³
1.018(1.013–1.023)
P < 0.001

Each row per its own increment, as printed

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

OutcomeRR (95% CI)P value
CVD mortality per 5% increase in greenness — Forestation index0.967 (0.955–0.979)P < 0.001
CVD mortality per 5% increase in greenness — Recreational green spaces0.967 (0.952–0.982)P < 0.001

Mental services use with ambient pollutant exposure

Higher rates of mental services (RR range)
1.003-1.053; all P < 0.05

Effect modification of air pollution (AP)–mortality association

Weaker AP–mortality association with increasing psychiatric hospitalizations and depression-related services
Greenness and socioeconomic status (SES): mixed modifying effect by pollutant, generally risk reduction

Original publication

Interplay between mental health, greenness, and environmental factors in cardiovascular mortality: insights from AIR-MIND. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 30 August 2025. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf534

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it