[Emissions polluting the air. Photo Credit: Pixabay]

According to a study published by the Epidemiology unit of the Medical Research Council at Cambridge University on September 4th, exposure to specific types of air pollution is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

The disease currently affects an estimated 57 million individuals globally, and by 2050, there will likely be at least 150 million cases.

The study, published in the academic journal Science, identified a direct correlation between prolonged exposure to PM2.5, which are airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, and dementia development in patients with Parkinson's disease or Lewy body dementia.

Despite the fact that air pollution has previously been linked to dementia risk, the study, the most thorough of its kind to date, discovered a positive and statistically significant correlation between dementia and three different types of air pollutants.

The three pollutants examined were nitrogen dioxide, which is created by burning fossil fuels,  PM2.5, which is produced by power plants, automobile emissions, and wood-burning stoves and fireplaces and soot, which is created by burning wood and vehicle exhaust emissions.

When inhaled, these pollutants can enter the lungs deeply and are linked to a number of respiratory conditions as well as an elevated risk of several heart issues.

More specifically, the study found that a person's relative risk of dementia would rise by 17% for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 and the danger increased by 13% when soot equivalent statistics were used.

The circulation, brain, and other organs contain these three pollutants, which can be breathed deeply into the lungs.

The researchers began by looking through the 56.5 million Medicare participants' healthcare data in the US. 

They examined patients who were initially hospitalized with protein damage between 2000 and 2014. 

Using the patients' zip codes, the researchers estimated how much PM2.5 pollution—airborne particles smaller than 2.5 thousandths of a millimeter—they would be exposed to throughout the course of their lifetime. 

The risk of Lewy body dementia was shown to increase with prolonged exposure to PM2.5, while the rates of another neurodegenerative brain illness that is not caused by the harmful proteins were found to be less affected.

Alpha-synuclein, a protein that is used to make Lewy bodies,  is essential for normal brain function; however it can malform in a number of ways, resulting in the production of dangerous Lewy bodies. 

By spreading throughout the brain, the protein can destroy nerve cells and result in debilitating illness.

Air pollution may contribute to dementia by inducing brain inflammation and oxidative stress, a bodily chemical process that can harm DNA, proteins, and cells.

According to the researchers, this represents a modifiable risk factor, unlike age or heredity, and the most obvious consequence is that policies pertaining to clean air are policies that promote brain health.

Reducing air pollution can generate long-term benefits across economic, societal, health, and environmental dimensions. 

Such measures can alleviate the strain on overburdened healthcare systems and lessen the tremendous load on patients, families, and caregivers.

The researchers admitted that the report had limitations because most of the studies they examined included white individuals who lived in wealthy nations. 

They emphasized that more individuals from underrepresented groups should be included in future research on air pollution.