Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases
• Research & Reports
What Is Planetary Health?
Brain Health
Our environment shapes neurological function and mental well-being, while resilient brains empower societies to adapt to and mitigate planetary challenges.
1 in 4 dementia deaths worldwide, approximately 626,000 deaths each year, is attributable to air pollution.
Brain health sits at the heart of Planetary Health, reflecting the dynamic relationship between human biology, social systems, and the environments we depend on to survive and thrive. The brain, our organ of cognition, emotion, behavior, and social connection, is uniquely sensitive to environmental conditions shaped by how we steward the planet. Rising temperatures, air and water pollution, extreme weather events, food and water insecurity, ecosystem degradation, and exposure to environmental toxins all affect neurological function, cognitive performance, and mental health across the lifespan.
20-30 minutes in natural environments can significantly improve attention, working memory, and executive function, compared with urban settings.
At the same time, healthy brains enable learning, creativity, cooperation, and collective decision-making, capacities that societies need to adapt to environmental change, design sustainable systems, and respond to crises. When environmental degradation undermines brain health, it weakens individual well-being, social cohesion, productivity, and communities’ ability to respond effectively to planetary challenges. This makes brain health both a vulnerability and a leverage point within the Planetary Health framework.
Our Brain Under Environmental Stress
Scientific evidence increasingly shows that environmental stressors act on the brain through interconnected biological, psychological, and social pathways. Heat stress disrupts sleep, cognition, and mental health; air pollution accelerates cognitive decline and increases the risk of dementia and neurodevelopmental disorders; extreme weather events drive trauma, displacement, and long-lasting effects on mental and cognitive health. These risks are not evenly distributed. Children, older adults, people with pre-existing neurological or mental health conditions, and communities facing socioeconomic disadvantage bear a disproportionate burden. A Planetary Health approach therefore requires centering on equity, prevention, and resilience.
Planetary Health Solutions for Brain Health
Crucially, many Planetary Health solutions are also brain-protective solutions. Cleaner air, climate-resilient food systems, access to green and blue spaces, urban tree canopies, reduced noise and heat exposure, and stronger social infrastructure all support cognitive function, emotional well-being, and neurological health while delivering environmental co-benefits. By explicitly integrating brain health into Planetary Health research, policy, and practice, we can better capture the full human benefits of environmental action and design interventions that strengthen both people and planet.
Resources
Mental Health Youth Voices
• News
Climate Change’s Hidden Mental Toll On Children Think Global Health.
Mental Health Noncommunicable Diseases
• Research & Reports
Environmental Neuroscience Springer Nature Link.
Chemical Pollution Research and Evaluation
Exploring microplastic pollution from origin to environmental impact and remediation approaches. Discover Environment.
Due to their widespread use, durability, and limited recoverability, microplastics are accumulating across aquatic and terrestrial environments. This review explores their sources, current detection and mitigation methods, and the potential risks they pose to human health.
• Research & Reports
Mental Health Climate Change
Equipping future climate and health advocates: Piloting a locally focused health effects of climate change curriculum in providence county schools. BMC Public Health.
• Research & Reports
Noncommunicable Diseases Climate Change
El Salvador’s Surge in Chronic Kidney Disease. Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health.
• News
Life Stage and Reproductive Health Mental Health
Exploring eco-anxiety in Italian adolescents: Psychometric evaluation of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale and theoretical insights into the association with pro-environmental attitudes. Frontiers in Psychology.
Climate change affects young people’s health more than adults’, yet teens often have few chances to take action. The findings suggest that for adolescents, feelings of worry and constant thinking about climate change can actually strengthen their environmental concern, underscoring the need to give them more opportunities to act.
• Research & Reports
Health and Care Systems Waste Management
Investigating infectious healthcare waste management at a university dental clinic
Medical waste contributes significantly to the environmental burden of healthcare institutions. This abstract highlights how the excessive use of single-use plastics and personal protective equipment in dentistry negatively impacts Planetary Health.
• Meeting Abstracts/ Reports
