Calderon-Garcidueñas, now director of the Environmental Neuropreventive Laboratory at the University of Montana, notes that brain damage, which he documented using neuroimaging in young dogs and humans, leads to memory impairment and declines in intelligence scores throughout life. Other scientific studies have shown that exposure to air pollution later in childhood changes neural circuits in the brain. This can potentially affect executive functions, including abilities such as decision-making and concentration, and increase the risk of mental health problems.
In China, India and the rest of the global south, both indoor and outdoor air pollution has been rising steadily for decades. According to the United Nations Foundation, “almost half of the world’s population breathes toxic air every day; “This includes over 90% of children.” Further complicating the problem is the fact that approximately 2.3 billion people worldwide depend on solid fuels and open fires for cooking.
A recent study found that pesticides, paints, cleaning products and other personal care products are another major source of PM 2.5 and can increase the likelihood of numerous health problems, including strokes that affect the brain.
In today’s industrialized world, we are all exposed to literally thousands of pollutants. And not every person exposed to a particular pollutant will experience the same symptoms, disorders, or diseases. This is partly due to genetics and partly because each exposure can occur at different stages of development or affect different parts of the body. Social differences also play a role: Poorer populations almost always live closer to factories, toxins and pollutants. Thus, a new field of research emerged: exosomic, the study of the effects of environmental pollution on human health, disease and development.
An international meta-analysis (a study of other studies) published in 2023 linked air pollution exposure during critical periods of brain development during childhood and adolescence to the risk of depression and suicidal behavior. The imaging portion of the study showed changes in brain structure, including neural circuits potentially involved in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
Other studies show that air pollution increases the risk of mental disorders over the years. In their study, based on large data sets from the United States and Denmark, University of Chicago scientist Andrei Rzhetsky and colleagues found that poor air quality was associated with increased rates of bipolar disorder and depression in both countries. Especially when exposed at an early age.
In a study published in the journal Neurology in October 2023, researchers used advanced geographic analysis to show that people with average levels of air pollution had a 56% increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those living in areas with the lowest air pollution. air pollution level. Scientists also discovered something strange: The incidence rate increased with pollution levels, but then stabilized even as air pollution continued to increase. One reason may be that other diseases linked to air pollution, including Alzheimer’s disease, mask the onset of Parkinson’s disease; Another reason may be the unusual form of PM 2.5.
The greatest risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease appears to be in people with a genetic variant known as apolipoprotein E (APOE4). Approximately 25% of people have one copy of this gene, while 2−3% have two copies. However, the inheritance of this gene alone does not determine a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Environmental exposure is also important. Current scientific evidence suggests that air pollution’s interaction with genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease in later life may begin in midlife. At least for men. A separate study of more than 2,000 women found that cognitive decline in older people slowed when air quality improved.
In parallel, an international study by the Lancet Commission found that the risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, can be reduced by modifying or avoiding 12 risk factors: hypertension, hearing loss, smoking, obesity, depression, low social contact, low level of education, lack of physical activity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injuries and air pollution. Together, these factors represent approximately 40% of dementia cases worldwide.
Source: Ferra
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