Dementia, Brain Impacts Found To Be Robust In Areas Polluted By Wildfires

(Photo : Pexels/Marek Piwnicki)

Experts found out that one's exposure towards wildfires or agriculture pollution might actually increase the risk of having dementia.

The study indicated that in the United States, air pollution has recently been recognized and considered as a risk factor for dementia. Researchers said that fine particulate matter could actually have an impact on a person's cognitive function through neuroinflammation.

They noted that this was the result of systemic inflammation or oxidative stress after experiencing lung irritation.

It has also been found out that the smallest particles, which are often coated with neurotoxic chemicals, can enter the brain through the olfactory bulb or it can also cross the blood-brain barrier.

Scientists said that the exposures to air pollution could be modified at the population level, making it a prime target for large-scale prevention efforts.

Fine particulate matter

The US Environmental Protection Agency explained that the particle pollution, also called PM2.5 or fine particulate matter, is a mixture of solid and liquid droplets floating in the air. These particles can come in the form of dirt, dust, soot or smoke.

Usually, this fine particulate matter is coming from various sources in the environment, such as traffic, coal-fired power plants, agricultural emissions, and even the occurrence of wildfires.

Each source can emit this fine particulate matter with distinct physical and chemical characteristics, according to the study.

In the research, experts behind the Environmental Predictors of Cognitive Health and Aging (EPOCH) cohort study had utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which is considered as a nationally representative cohort of older adults in the US.

They discovered that the fine particulate matter, obtained from wildfires and windblown dust, was mainly concentrated in the West and Southwest, respectively.

Researchers pointed out that relatively high correlations were observed among fine particular matter from agriculture, road traffic, and nonroad traffic. These were also noticed among industry-related coal combustion and other industrial sources.

"In this nationally representative cohort study in the US, we found that higher long-term exposure to total fine particular matter was associated with a greater risk of incident dementia. The strength of the observed associations differed across emission sources, with the strongest and most robust associations for fine particular matter from agriculture and wildfires," results of the study stated.

"Road traffic, nonroad traffic, and coal combustion for energy and industry were also associated with incident dementia, although these results were sensitive to adjustment for fine particular matter from other sources," it added.

Scientist warned that prticle pollution is particularly deadly because of its minute size, noting that it can travel past one's body usual defenses. Instead of being breathed out when one person exhales, it might get stuck deep in one's lungs or go into a person's bloodstream.

Healthy cognitive aging

Preventing dementia has been important amid the rapid aging of the global population as well as the marked increases in the mean life expectancy around the world.

Researchers said that nearly 188,000 new cases per year of dementia could be attributed to total fine particulate matter exposure in the US.

This means that reducing the fine particulate matter, through various measures such as regulations, technological advances, and use of personal air purifiers, could actually promote healthy cognitive aging.

Still, experts said more studies are needed to address this.

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