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New research adds to the growing body of evidence that air pollution is significantly associated with an increased risk of hospital admissions for various neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias.
For the study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, the research team looked at the link between fine particle pollution (PM2.5) and neurodegenerative diseases in the United States.
Particulate matter (PM2.5), tiny airborne particles less than 1 / 10,000 of an inch in diameter, comes from various sources related to combustion, including industrial emissions, transportation, wildfires, and chemical reactions of pollutants in the atmosphere.
The researchers tapped into an unmatched amount of data compared to any previous study on air pollution and neurological disorders.
“Our study is based on the small but emerging evidence base indicating that long-term exposures to PM2.5 are associated with an increased risk of impaired neurological health, even at PM2.5 concentrations well below the limits. current national standards, “said study author Xiao Wu of Harvard University in the United States.
During the study, the research team analyzed 17 years (2000-2016) of hospital admissions data from 63,038,019 Medicare beneficiaries in the US and linked them to estimated PM2.5 concentrations by zip code.
Taking into account potential confounding factors such as socioeconomic status, they found that for every five micrograms per cubic meter of air (ig / m3) increase in annual PM2.5 concentrations, there was a 13% higher risk of hospitalizations for the first time. for both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
This risk remained elevated even below the supposedly safe levels of exposure to PM2.5, which, according to current standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency, is an annual average of 12 ig / m3 or less.
Women, whites and urban populations were particularly susceptible, the study found.
“Our study shows that current standards are insufficiently protective of the aging American population, highlighting the need for stricter standards and policies that help further reduce PM2.5 concentrations and improve overall air quality. “wrote the authors.
