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Written by: Li Enci
2020-08-12 12:51
Last update date: 2020-08-12 12:52A study by the Faculty of Medicine of CUHK found that long-term indoor burning of incense in the elderly can impair brain function and weaken cognitive ability. The research team conducted a three-year follow-up study with 515 elderly people. The results found that the elderly with the habit of burning incense indoors had significantly poorer cognitive ability, thinking ability, visual spatial ability and memory ability. Among them, cognitive performance remained poor after 3 years of follow-up status.
Huang Peilin, research assistant professor and clinical psychologist in the Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, CUHK, said that burning incense is a major factor in indoor air pollution. Pollutants not only increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, but also accelerate brain degeneration.
The Faculty of Medicine of CUHK found that long-term indoor burning of incense in the elderly can damage brain function and impair cognitive ability. . (Profile picture)
A research team led by the Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, CUHK, conducted a 3-year follow-up study from October 2014 to December 2017. The team recruited 515 elders, of whom 156 had the habit of burning incense indoors, while 359 did not. None of the subjects themselves had stroke or cognitive impairment. The team tried to understand the impact of indoor incense burning on brain function from three aspects: "cognitive function", "brain function connection" and "cognitive impairment risk related to vascular disease".
At the beginning and the third year of the study, the team conducted a cognitive ability test for the elderly, and performed MRI scans for them to understand the operation of the brain. The results of the study found that the cognitive performance of the elderly with the habit of burning incense indoors, including overall cognitive ability, thinking ability, visual and spatial ability, and memory, was significantly worse. Among them, cognitive performance remained poor after 3 years of follow-up. The team also found that the elderly who have the habit of burning incense indoors have fewer functional connections between brain regions. In addition, burning incense also interacts with vascular diseases and related risk factors, such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cerebral small vessel disease, which can impair cognitive ability.
The team recommends that the elderly keep air circulation when burning incense or choose safer alternatives. The ideal is to avoid burning incense indoors. (Photo by Lu Nuojun)
CUHK: Burning incense pollutants accelerates brain degeneration
Dr. Huang Peilin, research assistant professor and clinical psychologist in the Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, CUHK, said that burning incense is a major factor in indoor air pollution. Studies have pointed out that in addition to increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, pollutants will also accelerate brain degeneration, increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment, and long-term inhalation will affect brain health.
Professor Mok Chung-tang, head of the Department of Neurology of the Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics of CUHK, reminded that if there is a habit of burning incense at home, one must be more careful to prevent the elderly from inhaling pollutants for a long time and affecting their brain health. He suggested that the public should maintain good air circulation when burning incense, or choose safer alternatives. Ideally, they should avoid burning incense indoors.
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