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Air quality and suicide.

Claudia Persico1, Dave E Marcotte2

  • 1Department of Public Administration and Policy, School of Public Affairs, American University, NBER, and IZA.

Journal of Health Economics
|April 7, 2026
PubMed
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Air pollution, specifically fine particulate matter (PM2.5), is linked to increased suicide rates and hospitalizations. These effects are more pronounced for men, young individuals, and in highly polluted areas.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Air pollution is a significant environmental risk factor.
  • The link between air pollution and mental health outcomes requires further investigation.
  • Understanding the impact of air quality on suicide is crucial for public health policy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between daily air pollution exposure and suicide rates.
  • To quantify the impact of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on suicide incidence and related hospitalizations.
  • To identify demographic and geographic factors that may modify this relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a comprehensive dataset of U.S. death certificates over eight years.
  • Employed a two-stage residual inclusion estimator with wind direction as an instrumental variable for pollution exposure.
Keywords:
Air pollutionHealthSuicide

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  • Conducted event study analysis to assess the contemporaneous relationship between pollution and suicide.

    • Main Results:

    • A 1 μg/m³ increase in daily PM2.5 was associated with a 0.39% rise in daily suicides.
    • A 50.5% increase in monthly suicide-related hospitalizations was linked to daily PM2.5 exposure.
    • Larger effects were observed for men, young persons, and in areas with higher average pollution levels.

    Conclusions:

    • Daily exposure to air pollution, particularly PM2.5, is contemporaneously associated with increased suicide rates and hospitalizations.
    • The findings highlight the need to consider air quality as a contributing factor to suicide.
    • Public health interventions addressing air pollution may have benefits for mental health.