Tuesday 11th April 2023
This Reading Club event is based on the 2022 research article ‘Depression as a Brain-Body Disease and its Links to Air Pollution’ by Dr. Marie Müller, PhD.
Introduction
Depression is the most common mental health disorder worldwide (source), with about 5% of adults (20+ years) suffering from depression globally (source)/(source).
Depression is recognised as ‘a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease’ (source) and has both a complex aetiology and symptomatology. It is often framed as a mental health problem, however, the more we understand the more we uncover its physical symptomology. Additionally, it is important to understand how environmental factors, such as air pollution are contributing to its prevalence.
We are going to use depression as a case study to produce three learnings:
Mental and physical pathways of disease are intertwined.
Air pollution can exacerbate (or even cause) mental disorders.
This relationship poses a great ethical problem.
Depression is more than a mental disorder—it is a physical disorder too.
Format
This event will be in the form of a "reading club", meaning that we will be reading and discussing parts of the report live at the event.
This is a method to co-learn, critique, and reflect on this scientific report.
We advise participants to read/scan the report before attending in order to familiarise themselves with the topics.
