A recent study has found that living with air pollution, especially from wildfires or agriculture raises the risk of dementia.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at data from 27,857 survey participants between 1998 to 2016. The researchers found that about 15%, or 4,105, developed dementia during the study period, and all lived in areas of the US with higher concentrations of particle pollution than those who didn’t develop dementia.
Though dementia is not a specific disease, it is a condition that is characterized by the impairment of at least two brain functions, such as memory loss and judgment. Its symptoms include forgetfulness, limited social skills, and thinking abilities so impaired that it interferes with daily functioning.
According to the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, there are more than 100 thousand cases of dementia per year in Nigeria. This is a chronic mental condition as it can last for years and can be lifelong.
The study authors pointed out that dementia’s link to areas with pollution from agriculture and wildfires associations were observed even at pollution levels lower than US current national ambient air quality standards.
According to the US
Environmental Protection Agency, particle pollution occurs when solid and liquid droplets floating in the air get mixed up. It can occur in the form of dirt, dust, soot, and smoke, from coal- and natural gas-fired plants, cars, agriculture, unpaved roads, construction sites, and wildfires.
Dr. Sara Dubowsky Adar, associate chair of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health added that pesticides which are neurotoxins to animals could also affect human brains, as well.
What makes particle pollution particularly deadly is that PM2.5 is so tiny (1/20th of a width of a human hair) that it can travel past your body’s usual defenses. Therefore, when you exhale, it gets stuck deep in your lungs or goes into your bloodstream.
The particles can lead to irritation, inflammation, and respiratory problems. Research also found that long-term exposure to particle pollution can also cause cancer, depression, breathing problems, and a variety of heart problems.
Help experts advise using air purifiers in the home and wearing masks if going outside amid smoke and dust to reduce exposure to particle pollution.
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