A UC San Francisco study has revealed a link between elevated amyloid plaque levels among older Americans with cognitive impairment and the air pollution levels in their neighborhoods from cars, factories, power plants and wildfires.
In the study, which appears in JAMA Neurology on Monday, researchers found that among those tested the greater the air pollution in their neighborhood, the higher the likelihood of amyloid plaques – a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that pollution joins established dementia risk factors like smoking and diabetes.
The UCSF researchers looked at the PET scans of more than 18,000 seniors whose average age was 75. The participants had dementia or mild cognitive impairment and lived in zip codes dotted throughout the nation.
The researchers found that those in the most polluted areas had a 10 percent increased probability of a PET scan showing amyloid plaques, compared to those in the least polluted areas.