Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41177019›Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2025

Artificial outdoor light at night and depression in older adults in the USA, England, Northern Ireland, and Ireland.

Rina So, Jennifer D'Souza, Joanne Feeney, Hüseyin Küçükali, Kayleigh P Keller, Giorgio Di Gessa, Joanna Sara Valson, Ruth F Hunter, Bernadette McGuinness, Frank Kee and 5 more

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Article in Environment international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Rina SoDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Section of Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jennifer D'SouzaDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Joanne FeeneyThe Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Hüseyin KüçükaliCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom; Research Center for Healthcare Systems and Policies, İstanbul Medipol University, İstanbul, Türkiye.
Kayleigh P KellerDepartment of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Giorgio Di GessaDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Joanna Sara ValsonCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Ruth F HunterCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Bernadette McGuinnessCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Frank KeeCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Anne NolanThe Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland; Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland.
Sinead Mc LoughlinThe Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Jinkook LeeDepartment of Economics & Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, CA, USA.
Sara D AdarDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, MI, USA.
Paola ZaninottoDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: p.zaninotto@ucl.ac.uk.

Funding

Integrting Information About Aging SurveysR01AG030153 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Sara Adar, Alden L. Gross · 2007 to 2026
$41.7M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG030153
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundArtificial Light at night (ALAN) is a potential environmental stressor for depression, but epidemiological evidence is limited. Cross-national surveys of aging were leveraged to examine LAN and depression.

methodsWe used longitudinal aging surveys from the US (HRS; n = 20,868), England (ELSA; n = 9848), Ireland (TILDA; n = 6407), and Northern Ireland (NICOLA; n = 2725). Depression was ascertained using Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and dichotomized based on study-specific cutoffs. Annual mean outdoor ALAN exposure was estimated using satellite-derived nighttime light data (∼500 m resolution), then categorized using harmonized quartiles, based on cross-country population values (≤2.79, 2.79-11.69, 11.69-23.93 and >23.93 nW/cm

resultsThe prevalence of depression was highest in ELSA and HRS (24%), followed by NICOLA (14%) and lowest in TILDA (8%). The mean (SD) ALAN levels were 18.9 (9.0) nW/cm

conclusionsFindings from multiple countries suggest that outdoor ALAN exposure is associated with depression in older adults and highlight the value of international longitudinal aging cohorts for investigating the impact of environmental exposures on health.

Indexed as

DepressionLightingAgedAged, 80 and overEnglandFemaleHumansIrelandLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedNorthern IrelandPrevalenceUnited StatesAgingEnvironment exposureLight at nightLight pollutionLongitudinal

Identifiers

PMID41177019
PMCPMC12987635

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.