ArticleBMC public health2026
Depressive symptoms mediate the associations between air pollution exposure and anemia risk: a nationwide longitudinal study in China.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAnemia remains a critical global health challenge, affecting 24.3% of the global population. While air pollution and depressive symptoms are recognized as potential risk factors, their combined effects and underlying mechanisms on anemia risk remain underexplored. This study aims to explore the associations between air pollution (PM₁, PM₂.₅ and O₃), depressive symptoms, and anemia risk using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.
methodsData from 6,526 participants in the CHARLS database from 2011 to 2015 were analyzed. Air pollution exposure was assessed using geospatial modeling, while depressive symptoms were measured by the CESD-10 scale. Anemia was defined based on hemoglobin concentrations. Logistic regression models, restricted cubic spline analysis and mediating effect analysis were used to examine the relationships between air pollutants, depressive symptoms and anemia risk.
resultsLong-term exposure to PM₁ (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.05–1.19, P < 0.001) and PM₂.₅ (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03–1.17, P = 0.004) was associated with elevated anemia risk, whereas O₃ exhibited a protective effect (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.64–0.73, P < 0.001). Depressive symptoms mediated 5.6% of the PM₁-anemia association (P = 0.020) and 3.1% of the O₃-anemia pathway (P < 0.001). Stratified analyses revealed stronger PM-related anemia risks in rural residents (vs. urban) and western China (vs. eastern) while O₃’s protective effect was pronounced in populations with lower education or pre-existing digestive diseases.
conclusionThis study provides novel evidence that depressive symptoms partially mediate the effects of PM₁ and O₃ on anemia, underscoring the intertwined roles of environmental and mental health in hematological outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.