According to a recent study, air pollution, especially particulate pollution, is associated with an increased risk of dementia.
A team of scientists found that people living in areas with high particulate pollution developed dementia.
Dementia is a general term that refers to a decline in the ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with daily activities.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, analyzed data from about 27,857 survey participants between 1998 and 2016. The study found that 15 percent of people with dementia live in these areas. which have higher particle pollution. This correlation is especially strong in areas where pollution comes from agriculture and wildfires.
Particulate pollution, also known as PM2.5 or particulate matter, is a combination of liquid and solid droplets present in the air, which can come from a variety of sources including power plants, vehicles, agricultural activities, construction sites, and wildfires.
While previous studies have mainly focused on pollution from fossil fuels, the new study has highlighted the association between pollution from agricultural activities and wildfires.
Dr Sara Dubowsky Adar, an epidemiologist involved in the study, said the role of pesticides in agricultural pollution appears to be important because they are known to be neurotoxins.
On the other hand, wildfires produce particles not only from burning trees but also from burned structures such as homes and gas stations.
