- Wildfires and agricultural spraying increase the lifelong risk of dementia more than air pollution from other sources, according to a new study.
- Tiny particulates circulating in air pollution can easily enter the body and affect the brain via inflammation or direct crossing of the brain-blood barrier.
- Even non-extreme levels of air pollution may be sufficient to increase the risk of dementia.
A new study from the University of Michigan has found that of all types of air pollution, wildfires and air pollution from agricultural spraying are the most damaging when it comes to brain health.
The authors of the study found that the tiny particles carried aloft by these two sources — which we may breathe in — are most strongly associated with the onset of dementia.
The study comes in the wake of July 2023 being designated the hottest month ever recorded and as out-of-control wildfires continue to wreak havoc across North America and the world. Canada, for example, is currently grappling with 236 fires in its Northwest Territories as the government has ordered Yellowknife residents to evacuate the city.
The smoke from such fires can travel great distances, reducing the quality of air in places far removed from the actual conflagrations.
At the same time, in other areas, agriculture continues releasing damaging particulates into the air, where they may also be dispersed over large geographic areas.
Air quality is measured by the amount of PM2.5 — an abbreviation for “particulate matter two and a half microns or smaller” — in the air. PM2.5 is tiny enough to pass through the blood-brain barrier that otherwise effectively protects our brains.
The study estimated that nearly 188,000 new cases of dementia per year can be attributed to PM2.5 exposure in the U.S.
The researchers’ analysis utilized data covering January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2016, from the Health and Retirement Study. Researchers followed for just over ten years the cognitive health of 27,857 individuals…
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