Forest fire smoke may negatively impact our mental health, according to a study

This summer’s wildfires have badly impacted numerous nations and areas, from Greece to Hawaii and Canada, with all the ensuing environmental and health effects. According to a recent research, inhaling these gases may have negative impacts on the brain’s health in addition to effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, maybe even resulting in neurocognitive or mood issues.

Forest fires are encouraged to start by more frequent and severe droughts and heatwaves, which may then spread quickly owing to the wind or the makeup of the flora and soil, occasionally going out of control. This summer, Greece and other locations in Europe, North America, the Pacific, and North Africa provided several instances of this phenomena.

According to this summer’s report from France’s Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses), the phenomena has major negative effects on both the environment and human health. According to the French administrative body, inhaling these fumes, which can produce suspended particles, carbon monoxide, and other chemical substances, can have negative effects on the respiratory system and the heart, and is especially harmful to firefighters and people who already have chronic respiratory conditions and heart disease.

But the effect on health may be considerably more severe. According to a recent study linking wildfire smoke to brain health conducted by scientists at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences, this is the case. More precisely, their study, which was published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, shows that inhaling this smoke may cause brain inflammation, which lasts for at least a month. According to a news statement from Professor Matthew Campen, one of the study’s authors, “the inflammatory process affects the hippocampus — the brain region associated with learning and memory — altering neurotransmitters and signaling molecules.”

Neurocognitive problems are possible.

The researchers gave rats exposure to wood fire smoke every other day for two weeks as part of their study. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), whose purpose is to prevent, among other things, the passage of foreign substances, sometimes toxic, and other pathogenic agents, into the brain, was found to have pro- and anti-inflammatory responses at the conclusion of the experiment when tiny particles of smoke were able to cross the BBB. Additionally, this inflammation was not transient and could possibly be persistent.

“We were able to assess the magnitude and timing of the inflammatory response. It was much shorter than we anticipated. We didn’t find a full resolution in some of it, and that was quite concerning to us, says David Scieszka, the study’s lead author. This discovery is particularly concerning since forest fires are spreading quickly around the globe and subjecting more and more people to these harmful gases.

According to the scientist Matthew Campen, “neuroinflammation is the seed for all kinds of bad things in the brain, including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease — the buildup of the plaques — but also alterations in neurodevelopment in early life and mood disorders throughout life.” He continues, “If you’re a firefighter, or if you’re just a citizen in a community that has had some of these dramatic smoke exposures, you could be having neurocognitive or mood disorders weeks, months, or weeks after the event.”

The French government advises remaining indoors during a forest fire, provided that your house is not in danger, and closing air vents. To prevent breathing in the smoke, it’s also a good idea to cover your mouth and nose with a moist towel. Some experts also advise using an air purifier, especially one with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, and wearing a N95 mask, which is designed to filter out particles that might be damaging to health.