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

Author(s)

dos Santos, Nathalia Villa ^{[1, 2]} ; Yariwake, Victor Yuji ^[2] ; Marques, Karina do Valle ^[3] ; Veras, Mariana Matera ^[2] ; Fajersztajn, Lais ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Saude Publ, Dept Saude Ambiental, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Patol, Lab Poluicao Ambiental, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Uberlandia, Dept Cirurgia, Uberlandia, MG - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY; v. 12, JUL 22 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/22793-0 - Alzheimer's Disease in the olfactory epithelium: correlation with the environment
• Grantee: Nathalia Villa dos Santos
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral