Does air pollution cause Alzheimer ’s disease?

Have you ever spent the day in a city with such bad air pollution that when you blew your nose the mucus had a black tinge? Have you ever coughed as you breathed in diesel fumes from a passing bus and thought to yourself, “Well, that’s a year gone from my life”? Could it actually be true — that air pollution leads to an early death? The answer, in fact, is an unqualified yes. Air pollution causes heart disease, lung disease, and early death It has been known for some time that air pollution causes lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, asthma, heart disease, and stroke. One recent study in China estimated that for those ages 75 and older, there are 1,166 early deaths for every 100,000 people — that’s more than 1%. But if it doesn’t kill you outright, can air pollution impair your memory, and cause dementia in general and Alzheimer’s disease (one cause of dementia) in particular? Studies from several countries link air pollution to cognitive impairment Three studies from three different parts of the world suggest that air pollution might cause cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. In the first study, researchers from China and the US teamed up to analyze data from China. They found that long-term exposure to air pollution is related to poor performance on both verbal and math tests. Moreover, the poor performance on the verbal tests was more pronounced for older individuals, especially for men and those less educated...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Alzheimer's Disease Environmental health Healthy Aging Memory Neurological conditions Source Type: blogs