Air Pollution: A Neglected Risk Factor for Dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean

Frontiers in Neurology

Karina do Valle Marques¹  Nathália Villa dos Santos²  Laís Fajersztajn³  Mariana Matera Veras³  Victor Yuji Yariwake³ 

[1] Departamento de Cirurgia, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlândia, Brazil;Departamento de Saude Ambiental, Faculdade de Saude Publica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil;Laboratório de Poluição Ambiental, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil;

关键词: air pollution;    particulate matter;    dementia;    Alzheimer;    Latin America;    low-and-middle income countries;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2021.684524

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) rises with increasing age and polluted air. Currently, at least 172 million people breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution in LAC countries. Several cohort studies have indicated that air pollution increases the risk of developing dementia and neurodegenerative diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the association are still not clear. Air pollution causes and aggravates five established risk factors for dementia (obesity, hypertension, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and heart diseases) and is linked to three other risk factors (physical inactivity, cognitive inactivity, and depression). Some of these risk factors could be mediating the association between air pollution and dementia. Reducing the risks for dementia is crucial and urgently needed in LAC countries. There is room for improving air quality in many urban areas in the LAC region and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a routealready explored by many urban areas in developing regions. Moreover, reducing air pollution has proved to improve health outcomes before. In this article, we propose that despite the ongoing and valid scientific discussion, if air pollution can or cannot directly affect the brain and cause or aggravate dementia, we are ready to consider air pollution as a potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia in LAC and possibly in other LMICs. We suggest that controlling and reducing current air pollution levels in LAC and other LMIC regions now could strongly contribute.

【 授权许可】

Unknown