Reducing air pollution could decrease the risk of developing dementia in the population.
This is supported by a study by the University of Southern California published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study involved nearly 3,000 women between the ages of 74 and 92. The women, who showed no signs of dementia at the start of the study, underwent annual cognitive function tests from 2008 to 2018. Using the participants' home addresses, the research team created mathematical models to relate the health conditions with the levels of air pollution to which women were exposed. It found that those who lived in areas where there had been a greater reduction in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, a pollutant mainly linked to traffic, had a higher risk of developing dementia. low by 14% and 26% respectively.
The benefit of less air pollution was evident despite differences in age, geographic area, socioeconomic background, and other cardiovascular risk factors among study participants.
"Reducing exposure to air pollution can promote healthier brain aging," says study first author Xinhui Wang, adding: "Our results show that the benefits may be universal in older women, even those already at greater risk of dementia ".
(HANDLE).