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Journal Article Systematic Review Epublish 6 citations

PubMed: 39223534 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19918-4

Air pollution: a latent key driving force of dementia.

BMC Public Health 24(1):2370

Authors: Mahdiyeh Mohammadzadeh, Amir Hossein Khoshakhlagh, Jordan Grafman

Affiliations

  • Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • Climate Change and Health Research Center (CCHRC), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
  • Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neurology, Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Center, Department of Psychiatry, Feinberg School of Medicine & Department of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.

Abstract

Many researchers have studied the role of air pollutants on cognitive function, changes in brain structure, and occurrence of dementia. Due to the wide range of studies and often contradictory results, the present systematic review was conducted to try and clarify the relationship between air pollutants and dementia. To identify studies for this review, a systematic search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases (without historical restrictions) until May 22, 2023. The PECO statement was created to clarify the research question, and articles that did not meet the criteria of this statement were excluded. In this review, animal studies, laboratory studies, books, review articles, conference papers and letters to the editors were avoided. Also, studies focused on the effect of air pollutants on cellular and biochemical changes (without investigating dementia) were also excluded. A quality assessment was done according to the type of design of each article, using the checklist developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Finally, selected studies were reviewed and discussed in terms of Alzheimer's dementia and non-Alzheimer's dementia. We identified 14,924 articles through a systematic search in databases, and after comprehensive reviews, 53 articles were found to be eligible for inclusion in the current systematic review. The results showed that chronic exposure to higher levels of air pollutants was associated with adverse effects on cognitive abilities and the presence of dementia. Studies strongly supported the negative effects of PM and then NO on the brain and the development of neurodegenerative disorders in old age. Because the onset of brain structural changes due to dementia begins decades before the onset of disease symptoms, and that exposure to air pollution is considered a modifiable risk factor, taking preventive measures to reduce air pollution and introducing behavioral interventions to reduce people's exposure to pollutants is advisable.

MeSH

Dementia, Environmental Pollutants, Air Pollution, Brain, Public Health, Air, Environmental Pollution, Research, Air Pollutants

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