Persistent organic pollutants exposure and risk of depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Recently, more and more epidemiological studies have examined the impact of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on depression, but the results are inconsistent. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to better understand the effects of POPs exposure on the risk of depression in the general population. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for studies before March 20, 2024. Random-effects meta-analysis was applied to calculate pooled relative risk (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We also assessed potential heterogeneity and publication bias across studies and conducted sensitivity analysis. A total of 26 studies were included, and the results indicated that exposure to ΣPBDEs, PBDE-47, and PBDE-99 increased the risk of depression, with OR of 1.37 (95 % CI = 1.06-1.79), 1.30 (95% CI = 1.08-1.56), 1.46 (95 % CI = 1.00-2.12) respectively. On the contrary, the exposure assessment results of PFOS showed a negative correlation with the risk of depression. There is no association between exposure to ΣPFAS, ΣPCBs, and ΣOCPs and increased risk of depression. More standardized studies and more samples are needed in the future to confirm the findings of this study. This finding could provide theoretical references for the prevention and management of depression and offer insights for the risk assessment of POPs exposure.