In 1923, lead was first added to gasoline to help keep car engines healthy.
In 1923, lead was first added to gasoline to help keep car engines healthy. However, automotive health came at the great expense of our own well-being.
A new study calculates that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood altered the balance of mental health in the U.S. population, making generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or hyperactive. The research estimates that 151 million cases of psychiatric disorder over the past 75 years have resulted from American children’s exposure to lead.
The findings, from Aaron Reuben, a postdoctoral scholar in neuropsychology at Duke University, and colleagues at Florida State University, suggest that Americans born before 1996 experienced significantly higher rates of mental health problems as a result of lead, and likely experienced changes to their personalities that would have made them less successful and resilient in life.
Read more at Duke University
