Breathing polluted air may lead to dementia later in life, according to a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Investigators compared records of nearly seven million records with federal air quality data. They discovered a clear link between dementia and exposure to a fine particulate pollution known as PM2.5.
“A 1 microgram-per-cubic-meter [μg/m³] increase in average decadal exposure [of PM2.5] increases the probability of receiving a dementia diagnosis by 1.3 percentage points,” the study notes. Not surprisingly, investigators found that the risk for dementia increased for people who were breathing lower-quality air.
Previous studies also have linked air pollution and damage to the human brain. In May, an investigation suggested that airborne metals can invade brain tissue, and lead to cancers or neurodegenerative disorders. In August, Chinese researchers found that breathing high levels of toxic air “is equivalent to having lost a year of education.”
