Alzheimer’s and Air Pollution

Adults exposed to high levels of air pollution are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, found Emory researchers. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives, the study gathered data from 1,113 participants in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Analysis revealed positive biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease among participants exposed to ambient and traffic–related air pollution at their homes. The study backs up the results of previous findings that have suggested air pollution contributes to degeneration in the brain.

“In our previous study, we showed associations between residential exposure to air pollution and Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain in an autopsy cohort,” says Anke Huels, lead author and assistant professor of epidemiology at Rollins School of Public Health. “And now, we found similar results in a study of living adults who were on average 15 years younger and cognitively healthy. This shows residential air pollution can negatively affect our brain even decades before we actually develop Alzheimer’s disease.”

James Lah, principal investigator of the Emory Healthy Brain Study and associate professor of neurology at Emory School of Medicine, adds that we know that air pollution is generally bad for human health, including brain health.

“But by showing a relationship to levels of the amyloid protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, this study suggests that air pollution might increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The flip side of that is, by cleaning up our environment, we might also help reduce the burden of Alzheimer’s disease.”