Air Pollution= Cognitive Decline in Later Years

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Air Pollution= Cognitive Decline in Later Years

The tiny particles in vehicle exhaust and other sources of air pollution may hasten cognitive decline in older adults, according to a new U. S. study.

“We decided to examine the link between air pollution and cognitive function in older adults because there is growing evidence that fine particulate matter air pollution affects brain health and development, but relatively little attention has been given to what this means for the aging brain,” said Jennifer Ailshire, who co-wrote the report.

Based on their results, improvements in air quality may be an important strategy for reducing age-related cognitive decline.

Poverty and other social factors as well as health problems can influence cognitive function, the authors note. And poorer neighborhoods tend to be more polluted. But after the researchers adjusted for education, employment, gender, marital status and several other factors, the differences in cognitive error rates remained.

“The emerging evidence showing a link between air pollution and cognitive function suggests air pollution may harm the brain as well as the heart and lungs,” Ailshire said in an email.

Scientists “believe that particulate matter may affect cognitive function in older adults by its harmful effects on the cardiovascular system – which is connected to the brain through blood vessels – and possibly by directly acting on the brain itself.

This type of air pollution is difficult to avoid. The most important action is the one we take as a society, by regulating the amount of pollution that gets emitted into our air, not by individual actions, she said.

Although finding a link between the air we breathe on a daily basis and our long-term brain health is alarming, the good news is that we have made remarkable progress in the last decade in reducing levels of air pollution across the country, and there are efforts underway to further reduce air pollution.

SOURCE: The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, online June 6, 2014.

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