Air pollution associated with higher risk of dementia
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The findings of the research were published in the journal ‘Environmental Health Perspectives’. In the UW-led study, a small increase in the levels of fine particle pollution (PM2.5 or particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or smaller) averaged over a decade at specific addresses in the Seattle area was associated with a greater risk of dementia for people living at those addresses.
Washington: Fine particulate air pollution is associated with a higher risk of dementia, according to the findings of a new study. Using data from two large, long-running study projects in the Puget Sound region -- one that began in the late 1970s measuring air pollution and another on risk factors for dementia that began in 1994 -- University of Washington researchers identified a link between air pollution and dementia. The findings of the research were published in the journal ‘Environmental Health Perspectives’. In the UW-led study, a small increase in the levels of fine particle pollution (PM2.5 or particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or smaller) averaged over a decade at specific addresses in the Seattle area was associated with a greater risk of dementia for people living at those addresses. "We found that an increase of 1 microgram per cubic meter of exposure corresponded to a 16 percent greater hazard of all-cause dementia. There was a similar association for Alzheimer's-type dementia," said lead author Rachel Shaffer, who conducted the research as a doctoral student in the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.More Related News