Massive Study Ties Leaded Gasoline to 150 Million Mental Health Diagnoses in U.S.
December 13, 2024Leaded gasoline and exposure to its exhaust may help explain an estimated 151 million U.S. cases of psychiatric disorders, including ADHD, depression, and anxiety, according to a new cross-sectional study spanning the last 75 years published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.1Exposure to leaded gasoline from car exhaust was tied to population-wide cases of mental health disorders from 1940 to 2015 by researchers from Duke University, Florida State University, and the Medical University of South Carolina.
They estimated that more than half of the current U.S. population was exposed to harmful levels of lead in childhood, resulting in profound effects on their mental health, personality traits, and overall well-being.
People born between 1966 and 1986 (referred to as Generation X) experienced the highest rate of lead exposure and are at the greatest risk for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and personality changes.“Research on lead as a developmental neurotoxicant is robust,” says Joel Nigg, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and a professor in the departments of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Oregon Health & Science University. “Its correlation with ADHD is also well established.
Even low levels of exposure have an effect on ADHD.”2, 3Nigg was the principal investigator on several studies suggesting that lead exposure has a causal role in ADHD.
United States
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Cases: 46 252 513
Deaths: 750 423
Recovered: 0
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India
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Cases: 34 321 025
Deaths: 459 652
Recovered: 0
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Brazil
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Cases: 21 835 785
Deaths: 608 235
Recovered: 0
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United Kingdom
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Cases: 9 215 683
Deaths: 141 607
Recovered: 0
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Russia
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Cases: 8 494 589
Deaths: 237 619
Recovered: 0
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