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Air Pollution Linked to Brain Amyloid Pathology

Higher levels of air pollution were associated with an increased risk for amyloid-beta pathology in a new study of older adults with cognitive impairment.

“Many studies have now found a link between air pollution and clinical outcomes of dementia or cognitive decline,” lead author Leonardo Iaccarino, PhD, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, told Medscape Medical News. “But this study is now showing a clear link between air pollution and a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease: it shows a relationship between bad air quality and pathology in the brain.

“We believe that exposure to air pollution should be considered as one factor in the lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s,” he added. “We believe it is a significant determinant. Our results suggest that if we can reduce occupational and residential exposure to air pollution, then this could help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.”

The study was published online in JAMA Neurology on November 30.

Iaccarino explained that it is well known that air pollution is linked to poor health outcomes. “As well as cardiovascular and respiratory disease, there is also growing interest in the relationship between air pollution and brain health,” he said. “The link is becoming more and more convincing, with evidence from laboratory, animal, and human studies suggesting that individuals exposed to poor air quality have an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia.”

In addition, this year, the Lancet Commission included air pollution in its updated list of modifiable risk factors for dementia.

Exposure to higher ozone concentrations was not associated with amyloid positivity on PET scans in both time windows.

“These findings suggest that brain amyloid-beta accumulation could be one of the biological pathways in the increased incidence of dementia and cognitive decline associated with exposure to air pollution,” the researchers state.

“Adverse effects of airborne toxic pollutants associated with amyloid-beta pathology should be considered in public health policy decisions and should inform individual lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia,” they conclude.

Iaccarino noted that although governments need to take primary action in reducing air pollution, individuals can make some changes to reduce their exposure to poor-quality air.

“Such changes could include not going out or using masks when pollution levels are very high (as happened recently in California with the wild fires) and avoiding areas where the air quality is known to be bad. In addition, there are activities which increase indoor air pollution which can be changed, such as certain types of cooking, cigarette smoking, use of coal fires,” he commented.

“Based on our findings, it would be reasonable to take action on these things, especially for individuals at higher risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease or Alzheimer’s,” he added.

AMA Neurol. Published online November 30, 2020. Abstract

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