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Air pollution major risk for cardiovascular disease regardless of country income

A massive study using data from the long-running Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study found a 5% increase in all cardiovascular events for every 10 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in concentration of air pollutant particles under 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5).

Factoring in the vast range of concentrations in PM2.5 recorded across the globe, that means 14% of all cardiovascular events documented in the study can be attributed to PM2.5 exposure.

The strongest association between air pollution exposure and health outcomes was for strokes.

The data came from 157,436 adults aged 35-70, in 21 countries, from 2003-2018.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/osu-sap062320.php

Hystad, P. et al. (2020). Associations of outdoor fine particulate air pollution and cardiovascular disease in 157 436 individuals from 21 high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries (PURE): A prospective cohort study. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(6), e235–e245. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30103-0

Exposure to pollution linked to brain atrophy, memory decline

Data from 998 older women (73-87) participating in the long-running Women’s Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging found that those exposed to higher levels of air pollution experienced greater declines in episodic memory and more Alzheimer’s-like brain atrophy than those who breathed cleaner air.

The finding is consistent with previous research indicating that fine particle pollution exposure increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Fine particle pollution is also associated with asthma, cardiovascular disease, lung disease and premature death.

Factors such as differences in income, education, race, geographic region, cigarette smoking, were taken into account in the analysis.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-11/uosc-etp112019.php

Younan D, Petkus AJ, Widaman KF, et al. Particulate matter and episodic memory decline mediated by early neuroanatomic biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease [published correction appears in Brain. 2020 Mar 1;143(3):e24]. Brain. 2020;143(1):289-302. doi:10.1093/brain/awz348

Air pollution substantially reduces cognitive ability in older adults

A large Chinese study involving 20,000 people has found that the longer people were exposed to air pollution, the worse their cognitive performance in verbal and math tests. The effect of air pollution on verbal tests became more pronounced with age, especially for men and the less educated.

The study followed the participants from 2010 to 2014, meaning that the same individuals could be assessed as air pollution varied from one year to the next.

The findings add to previous research showing the harmful effects of air pollution on cognitive performance in children.

Air pollution during pregnancy linked to cognitive impairment in children

Research using data from a population-based birth cohort from Rotterdam, in The Netherlands, has found that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution when they were in womb had significantly thinner cortex in several brain regions. Some of this appeared to be related to impaired inhibitory control.

Air pollution linked to children's low GPAs

Data from 1,895 fourth and fifth grade children living in El Paso, Texas has found that those who were exposed to high levels of motor vehicle emissions had significantly lower GPAs, even when accounting for other factors known to influence school performance.

The link between air pollution and academic performance may be direct (pollutants damage the brain) or indirect — through illness and absenteeism.

The finding adds to other evidence linking air pollution around schools to children's academic performance.

Children with Alzheimer's gene may be more vulnerable to brain damage from smog

A small study involving 50 children and teens living in Mexico City (aged 13.4 ± 4.8 years) has found that those with the 'Alzheimer's gene' APOEε4 (22 of the 50) were more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution on cognition. Those with the gene variant had a reduced NAA/Cr ratio in the right frontal white matter (as those with Alzheimer's do), poorer attention and short-term memory, and below-average scores in Verbal and Full Scale IQ (>10 points), compared to those with the 'normal' ε3 variant.

Exposure to vehicle pollution bad for brains old and young

A study in which mice were exposed to polluted air for three 5-hour sessions a week for 10 weeks, has revealed that such exposure damaged neurons in the hippocampus and caused inflammation in the brain. The polluted air was laden with particles collected from an urban freeway.

Proximity to freeway associated with autism

Increased awareness and changes in diagnostic criteria can’t entirely explain the massive increase in autism — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported a 57% increase between 2002 and 2006. Another factor may involve environmental pollutants.

Children's cognitive ability affected by prenatal exposure to urban air pollutants

A five-year study involving 214 children born to healthy, non-smoking Caucasian women in Krakow, Poland, has found that those prenatally exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) had a significant reduction in scores on a standardized test of reasoning ability and intelligence at age 5 (an estimated average decrease of 3.8 IQ points). The mothers wore small backpack personal air monitors for 48 hours during pregnancy to estimate their babies' PAH exposure.

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