Air Pollution Tied to Brain Atrophy

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Air Pollution Tied to Brain Atrophy

Long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution may lead to structural changes in the brain, new research suggests.


The researchers found that exposure to high levels of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) was associated with smaller total cerebral brain volume, a marker of age-related brain atrophy, and with higher odds of covert brain infarcts. PM2.5 is a common type of air pollution generated from burning wood or coal, car exhaust, and other sources.


“Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with cerebrovascular disease and cognitive impairment, but the impact on structural changes in the brain is not well understood,” first author Elissa H. Wilker, ScD, Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.

“Our findings suggest that air pollution is associated with insidious effects on structural brain aging, even in relatively healthy older people,” she said. “This work aids in our understanding of mechanisms that are related to associations between particulate air pollution and clinically observed outcomes like stroke and impaired cognitive function.”


The study was published online April 23 in Stroke.

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