Higher long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide is associated with measurable differences in brain health. A study of about 7,000 Canadians aged around 57 examined air pollution exposure during the five years before testing. Participants came from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Fine particulate matter is found in wildfire smoke, industrial emissions, and car exhaust, while nitrogen dioxide is present in vehicle exhaust. Brain health was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Lower scores appeared on both tests with exposure to the pollutants. The changes were not severe or immediately noticeable, but they could be detected early and potentially addressed before worsening. Air pollution improvements in Canada have produced some of the cleanest air in the world.
"Higher long-term exposure to two common air pollutants was associated with "small differences in brain health that we could measure." The study examined how exposure to common air pollutants affected the performance of about 7,000 Canadians on tests of brain health. Researchers looked at exposure during the five-year period prior to the study, using participants recruited between 2014 and 2018 with an average age of 57."
"One of the pollutants in question was fine particulate matter, which is commonly found in wildfire smoke, industrial emissions and car exhaust. The other was nitrogen dioxide, a gas also found in vehicle exhaust. The researchers tested brain health using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, in which subjects try to remember words, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, where they match numbers and symbols. "Together, these tests show us what the brain can do and how efficiently it can do it," de Souza said."
"The study found exposure to both air pollutants resulted in lower scores on both brain tests. "It's nothing severe that people are going to notice, and feel horrible and extremely forgetful all of a sudden," but it shows we can measure these declines early and stop them before they get worse, de Souza said. Overall, the professor said, air pollution in Canada has been "a success story," leading to this region having "some of the cleanest air in the world.""
Read at www.cbc.ca
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