People living in parts of the United States with high levels of air pollution—especially in areas where pollution stems from agriculture and wildfires—have a greater risk of developing dementia, a study released Monday found, the latest study suggesting cognitive aging could be improved with tighter limits on air pollution.... [+]
on June 7, 2023. Fine particulate matter is widely understood to be a health hazard, leading to lung and heart issues for people who live near major highways or are exposed to wildfire smoke. Some 15% of almost 28,000 older adults who participated in the study from 1998 to 2016 developed dementia within a 10-year period—and participants who did develop dementia were more likely to be non-white, have a less formal education and live with higher particulate matter around their homes.
Researchers looked at survey data that asked about subjects’ cognition, health and health behaviors every two years, and gathered air quality data from the Environmental Protection Agency and information on factors like nearby transit and population density to estimate the total PM2.5—or fine particulate matter—at the subjects’ locations.
Though the researchers said the study suggests that “interventions to reduce pollution exposure” could decrease the life-long risk of dementia, they do say more research is needed to confirm the relationship between pollution and dementia.“Our cohort study suggests that reducing PM2.