Exposure to air pollution is linked to dementia in older adults, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Particulates from wildfires were associated with the second-highest risk, and pollution from traffic and coal burning weren’t the worst offenders.
The study, which focused on air pollution in the United States, found that people over 50 exposed to high levels of pollution in the form of dust, dirt, and soot generated from multiple sources including agriculture, coal combustion, and wildfires had an 8 percent higher incidence rate of dementia than adults not exposed to the pollutants.
