TEMPO.CO, New England - A study revealed that breathing polluted air may change a person’s brain that lead to cognitive impairment. The study, published on the American Heart Associiation Journal Stroke, examined 943 healthy adults aged at least 60 years old and lived the New England region.
Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, researchers compared participants’ brain structure to the air pollution level where they lived. The researchers found that an increase of 2 micrograms per cubic meter in fine-particle pollution — a range that can be observed across an average city — was linked to a 0.32 percent reduction in brain volume.
“That amount of change in brain volume is equivalent to about one year of brain aging," said study author Elissa H. Wilker as quoted by Live Science.
The researchers found that the people in the study who lived in areas with higher levels of pollution had smaller brain volumes and were also at higher risk of silent strokes compared with the people who lived in areas where the air was less polluted.
It isn’t clear how the pollution changes brain structure, but researchers say it may result from increased inflammation caused by the pollution.
“The new results may help the researchers understand what could be going on between air pollution and serious outcomes like stroke and cognitive impairment," Wilker told Live Science.
ERWIN Z | LIVESCIENCE
