A study from the Economic and Social Research Institute is linking the long-term burning of coal, peat or wood fires, to anxiety and depression.
It examined the effects of a micro-pollutant called PM2.5 and found higher rates of poor mental health among people living in areas with high exposure rates.
ESRI Professor Anne Nolan says they also looked at other factors like deprivation and poor housing, but were able to dismiss them:
"We kind of stripped out the effect of other potential factors that might lead you to have higher depression or anxiety. So what we found was that, even when you take those factors into account living in these areas with higher levels of air pollution, was associated with poor mental health."
