It is estimated that every 10 μg/m3 increase in black carbon exposure is equivalent to an extra two years of cognitive decline by aging.
Studies prove exposure to air pollution negatively effects cognition at all ages, but is particularly damaging in older people.
“There is substantial epidemiological evidence suggestive of a causal association between exposure to a range of air pollutants and deleterious effects on the brain including stroke, the acceleration of cognitive decline and the induction of dementia.”
Juana Maria Delgado-Saborit, et al. A critical review of the epidemiological evidence of effects of air pollution on dementia, cognitive function and cognitive decline in adult population, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 757, 2021, 143734, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143734.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972037265X)
In 2020, the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention added air pollution to its list of “12 potentially modifiable risk factors.”
Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6
“We postulate that, in people who have recovered from COVID-19...olfactory deficit could be prognostic for an increased likelihood of neurological sequelae or neurodegenerative disorders in the long term. An inflammatory stimulus from the nasal olfactory epithelium to the olfactory bulbs and connected brain regions might accelerate pathological processes and symptomatic progression of neurodegenerative disease."
...infections by exogeneous pathogens, insults by pollutants...appear to play a relevant role in the clinical history of AD. The specific treatment of these pathogens and decreasing environmental risk exposure may show beneficial effect in early intervention protocol to prevent the progression of cognitive deterioration in the elderly.
Licastro, F.; Porcellini, E. Activation of Endogenous Retrovirus, Brain Infections and Environmental Insults in Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s Disease. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 7263. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22147263
PM 2.5 is neurotoxic and there's very little one can do to avoid exposure.
Particulate Matter 2.5, or "PM 2.5" is ubiquitous in our indoor and outdoor environments.
PM 2.5 is estimated to cause 8.9 million deaths per year.
PM 2.5 is particularly dangerous due to its miniscule size (~ 0.000098 of an inch) and the neurotoxic mix of substances each particle can carry--including the virus that causes COVID.
Wildfires, climate change, algae blooms, burnpits, fossil fuel combustion--even woodstoves in our homes--are driving PM 2.5 exposure every day.
There is no "safe" level of PM 2.5. Indoor HEPA filters help, but there is little an individual can do to reduce PM 2.5 exposure outdoors, with the exception of wearing a respirator.
No country in the world met the WHO Standards for Air Quality in 2021.
Areas that are perceived to have better quality air are not spared as they are subject to prevailing wind patterns. In 2021, California wildfires drove unhealthy air quality conditions on the East Coast; China's air pollution is prevalent in California.
