#environmental-health — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #environmental-health, aggregated by home.social.
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Smoke engulfed their cities. Did it make their children sick?
By Jess Davis and Alex LimYears after bushfires covered their cities in smoke, mothers are left wondering if their children's chronic illnesses began with what was in the air before they were born.
#PublicHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #ChildrensHealth #WomensHealth #ClimateChange #JessDavis #AlexLim
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DATE: May 27, 2026 at 04:38AM
SOURCE: SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY.ORGTITLE: Air Pollution Exposure Linked to Memory Decline in Older Adults
Source: PsyPost
A recent study provides evidence that long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution may negatively affect specific types of memory in older adults. The research suggests that breathing polluted air over the course of more than a decade tends to harm semantic memory, which is the brain's ability to recall general knowledge and facts. These findings may help explain why there are racial disparities in dementia risk in the United States.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AirPollution #MemoryDecline #SemanticMemory #OlderAdults #LongTermExposure #ParticulateMatter #DementiaRisk #RacialDisparities #PublicHealth #EnvironmentalHealth
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DATE: May 27, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Long-term air pollution exposure linked to memory decline in Black adults
URL: https://www.psypost.org/long-term-air-pollution-exposure-linked-to-memory-decline-in-black-adults/
A recent study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging provides evidence that long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution may negatively affect specific types of memory in older Black adults. The research suggests that breathing polluted air over the course of more than a decade tends to harm semantic memory, which is the brain’s ability to recall general knowledge and facts. These findings highlight the importance of environmental factors in brain health and point to potential reasons behind racial disparities in dementia risk.
In the United States, Black adults experience rates of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia that are 1.5 to 2.0 times higher than those of White adults. Despite this elevated risk, Black adults have historically been underrepresented in environmental health research.
Stacey Alexeeff, a research scientist and biostatistician at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, explained the motivation behind the work. “Studies have shown that in the U.S., Black adults have much higher rates of dementia than White adults,” Alexeeff told PsyPost. “Black adults are also more likely to live in areas with higher levels of particulate air pollution than White adults.”
Alexeeff noted that focusing on these environmental factors could provide insight into broader public health patterns. “So, examining how air pollution impacts cognitive function among Black adults could help us understand these disparities,” Alexeeff said. “The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR) was designed to identify factors that impact brain aging among Black adults, which enabled us to examine air pollution over 17 years based on each person’s home address.”
To explore these questions, the scientists analyzed data from the STAR project, focusing on 740 Black adults between the ages of 53 and 94 who lived primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. All the participants had completed health checkups in the past and had no previous diagnosis of dementia when they enrolled in the current study between 2017 and 2020. The researchers gathered residential addresses for each participant and linked these locations to high-resolution daily estimates of fine particulate air pollution.
The scientists focused on fine particulate matter, which consists of tiny particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller in width. “Air pollution in your neighborhood can affect your health,” Alexeeff said. “Small particles come from car exhaust, factories, and wildfires. When we breathe in those small particles, they can travel to the bloodstream and the brain.”
Alexeeff emphasized that while the respiratory and cardiovascular effects of pollution are well established, the neurological effects represent a newer area of scientific focus. “We already know a lot about how air pollution affects the heart and lungs, like increasing the risks of heart attacks and asthma,” Alexeeff said. “But there is a growing body of research that suggests long-term exposure to air pollution also affects how the brain functions.”
The researchers calculated the average amount of pollution each person was exposed to over three specific timeframes, including a five-year, ten-year, and seventeen-year period. During the study, each participant completed a detailed assessment to measure three distinct areas of cognitive ability. These included semantic memory, verbal episodic memory, and executive function.
The data provides evidence that greater long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution is associated with lower scores in semantic memory. Specifically, the authors found that a five-microgram per cubic meter increase in pollution exposure over seventeen years was linked to a drop of 0.61 standard deviations in semantic memory performance. The five-year and ten-year exposure averages showed similar trends, but the associations were strongest over the seventeen-year timeframe.
“Prior research has shown that aging affects different aspects of our brain function in different ways,” Alexeeff said. “So, we knew it was important to look at each type of brain function separately, but we didn’t know what we would find. Interestingly, we found that long-term exposure to air pollution was associated with lower semantic memory, but not with other types of brain function.”
To put this into perspective, the researchers compared this pollution-related decline in memory to the natural aging process. “In fact, people living in areas with high air pollution for 17 years had worse semantic memory than those living in cleaner areas, and the difference was larger than what we’d expect from roughly a decade of aging,” Alexeeff said.
These prolonged effects indicate that the environment shapes cognitive trajectories in ways that require a sustained view. “This study is an important contribution to our understanding of the long-term impacts particle air pollution has on our health,” Alexeeff said. “Air pollution affects multiple systems in the body, and our findings suggest that exposures may continue to influence health more than a decade later.”
Because individual choices are often limited by socioeconomic factors, the researchers point out that systemic changes are needed. “Our study examined exposure to pollution over long time periods of 5, 10 and 17-years,” Alexeeff said. “If you live in an area with high levels of particle pollution, it’s hard to reduce your exposure through individual actions alone because most people can’t easily move to a different neighborhood.”
“There are steps people can take, like using a home air filter to reduce indoor exposure to small particles,” Alexeeff said. “But it takes policy solutions at a much larger scale to ensure that everyone in every neighborhood has clean air to breathe.”
The authors acknowledge a few potential misinterpretations and limitations. Because the study only included Black participants, it is not possible to directly compare these findings with other racial or ethnic groups within the same study framework. The findings highlight a specific risk factor for Black adults but do not determine if this population is uniquely vulnerable to pollution compared to others.
Another limitation involves the tracking of residential addresses over time. The researchers used addresses collected at specific ages, which means they did not have exact dates for when participants might have moved from one home to another. They also did not have information on how much time the participants spent outdoors or away from their homes, which could influence their actual day-to-day exposure to polluted air.
Future research should aim to track individual cognitive decline over time and differentiate between the various sources of air pollution. “The next steps are to look at whether particle pollution from say, a fire, causes more cognitive harm than particle pollution in car exhaust or in what is expelled from a factory,” Alexeeff said. Understanding exactly how specific types of dirty air affect brain functions will help public health officials anticipate future medical needs and design targeted interventions.
The study, “Particulate air pollution and domain-specific cognition among Black adults,” was authored by Stacey E. Alexeeff, Chinomnso N. Okorie, Paola Gilsanz, Joel Schwartz, Amanda J. Goodrich, Ai-Lin Tsai, Rachel A. Whitmer, Kelly M. Bakulski, Scarlet Cockell, and Kathryn C. Conlon.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/long-term-air-pollution-exposure-linked-to-memory-decline-in-black-adults/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AirPollutionCognition #SemanticMemory #BlackHealth #DementiaRisk #EnvironmentalHealth #PollutionAndCognition #STARResearch #UrbanAirQuality #HealthDisparities #BrainHealth
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DINARA-WELVET has reached Southeast Asia.
Today in Timor-Leste, we are holding a workshop with local professionals and young people to discuss One Health, biosecurity, biodiversity, environmental protection, public health, and preparedness.
Thank you, East Timor, for joining us on this adventure!
You can find more abour DINARA-WELVET here: https://associationredefine.substack.com/p/dinara-welvet-one-health-capacity?r=6l8ed8
#OneHealth #TimorLeste #Biosecurity #Biodiversity #PublicHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #CapacityBuilding #EuropeanUnion
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📘 The 2024 UNSCEAR report draws on a wide range of scientific sources — but the criteria used to select those publications matter enormously for how we interpret its conclusions.
Pages 13–14 detail the methodology. Essential reading for anyone working in radiation protection, environmental health, or public health policy.
🔗 https://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/publications/2024_2.html
#UNSCEAR #RadiationProtection #PublicHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #OpenScience #EvidenceBased
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DATE: May 22, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Wildfire smoke linked to rising pediatric mental health emergencies
URL: https://www.psypost.org/wildfire-smoke-linked-to-rising-pediatric-mental-health-emergencies/
Fine particulate matter from wildfires is associated with a rise in mental health emergencies among children and teenagers, according to a recent multi-country analysis. The researchers observed that emergency department visits for conditions like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia increased after days with higher wildfire smoke exposure. These results were detailed in a paper published in Nature Mental Health.
Fine particulate matter consists of microscopic droplets and bits of ash suspended in the air. These particles are incredibly small, measuring about thirty times smaller than the width of a single human hair. Because of their tiny size, they can be inhaled deeply into the lungs and easily pass into the bloodstream.
Children and teenagers are uniquely vulnerable to this type of air pollution. Young people breathe a higher volume of air relative to their body size compared to adults. They also have less efficient bodily systems for detoxifying harmful chemicals, and their rapidly developing brains are highly sensitive to environmental stressors.
Smoke generated by wildfires is different from the usual air pollution found in cities. Wildfire smoke contains a higher concentration of oxidative compounds and toxic chemicals created by burning vegetation and organic matter. The particles in wildfire smoke also tend to be smaller than those from car exhaust, allowing them to travel farther in the wind and penetrate deeper into human tissues.
The study was led by Yiwen Zhang, a public health researcher at Monash University in Australia. The research was jointly supervised by Monash University epidemiologists Yuming Guo and Shanshan Li. The research team initiated the project to better understand how physical exposure to smoke affects the brain.
Many previous studies on wildfires have focused on the psychological trauma of surviving a disaster. The researchers wanted to isolate the specific biological impact of inhaling the pollution itself, rather than the stress of the fire event. Examining the air pollution allows for a more precise measurement of how the dose of smoke relates to sudden changes in mental health.
The researchers analyzed hospital records from 2004 to 2019 across Australia, Brazil, and Canada. The massive dataset included more than 3.1 million emergency department visits for youths under the age of twenty. To estimate smoke exposure, the team used advanced computer atmospheric models and machine learning programs to separate wildfire smoke from general urban pollution across 845 different communities.
The team employed a time-stratified, self-controlled study design. They compared the local air quality on the exact day a child visited the hospital to the air quality on similar days in the same month when that child did not need emergency care. This method allowed the researchers to hold constant individual family traits, such as genetics or socioeconomic status, throughout the study period.
The analysis revealed a consistent association between spikes in wildfire smoke and hospital visits for pediatric mental health issues. For every extra microgram of wildfire particles per cubic meter of air, emergency department visits for all mental health conditions increased by 1.4 percent. This elevated risk lingered over the six days following the initial smoke exposure.
The strength of this association varied noticeably across different psychiatric conditions. Diagnoses of schizophrenia showed the strongest response, with a 3.7 percent increase in emergency visits following smoke exposure. Emergency visits for anxiety arose by 3 percent, while depression-related visits increased by 2.6 percent.
The research team estimated the total annual burden of these smoke events on the healthcare system. Across the three countries, wildfire smoke contributed to an estimated 22,459 mental health emergency visits each year over the study period. Out of all the air pollution-related mental health visits, smoke from wildfires was responsible for a disproportionately large share given how rarely fires occur compared to daily urban pollution.
The researchers noticed that certain demographic groups faced higher risks. Boys experienced a stronger association between smoke and general mental health disorders compared to girls. However, girls showed a higher risk specifically for schizophrenia emergencies during heavy smoke days.
Age also played a role in how children reacted to the environmental hazard. Young children under the age of five experienced a heightened vulnerability across most mental health categories. The researchers noted that mental health conditions in very young children are rarely recognized early, mostly because symptoms often appear as behavioral outbursts or physical complaints.
Socioeconomic factors modified the risk of a mental health emergency heavily. Communities with lower average incomes and highly urbanized areas experienced a much higher burden of smoke-linked hospital visits. Frequent exposure to regular, non-wildfire air pollution also made children more vulnerable when a sudden wave of wildfire smoke rolled into their neighborhood.
Among the three tested countries, the geographical differences were striking. The association between wildfire smoke and mental health emergencies was highest in Brazil. Meanwhile, the data from Canada did not yield a statistically significant connection for the youth population.
The researchers suspect this discrepancy involves a combination of chronic stress, inequality, and healthcare access. Brazil frequently experiences massive agricultural and forest fires, creating sharp spikes in severe pollution. That country also faces high income inequality, and the public healthcare system lacks the resources to treat the vast majority of severe mental health cases.
The biological mechanisms underlying the link between smoke and mental health are an active area of investigation. When tiny particles enter the brain, they might trigger inflammation and disrupt the biological barrier that protects the central nervous system from toxins. The pollution might also interfere with the complex hormone systems that regulate mammalian stress responses.
Aside from direct chemical irritation, the air pollution could worsen mental health through indirect pathways. Thick smoke alters weather patterns, reduces ambient sunlight, and often keeps children trapped indoors. These environmental shifts can easily disrupt sleep schedules, and poor sleep is a well-established trigger for various emotional and psychological disorders.
The authors noted several limitations regarding their dataset and analysis methods. The study only included data from three nations, meaning the findings might not represent the entire global population completely. The researchers also relied on average air pollution levels across entire communities, which could mask differences in individual exposure.
Certain families might stay indoors, run air purifiers, or live in better-sealed homes, altering their true pollution intake. Because the grid resolution of the atmospheric models cannot capture every local variation, the scientists believe their current estimates of the health risks might actually be on the conservative side. Diagnosing mental health in toddlers is also notoriously difficult, meaning the true number of young children affected might be underreported.
Future research on climate hazards will require more detailed tracking of individual patients. Additional studies could incorporate localized exposure sensors to provide more exact measurements of what children are breathing. Investigators also hope to examine how other climate-driven stressors, such as extreme heat and climate anxiety, combine with air pollution to shape the well-being of future generations.
The study, “Wildfire-sourced fine particulate matter and mental disorders in children and adolescents,” was authored by Yiwen Zhang, Shuang Zhou, Rongbin Xu, Zhengyu Yang, Wenzhong Huang, Paulo H. N. Saldiva, Wenhua Yu, Gongbo Chen, Micheline S. Z. S. Coelho, Tingting Ye, Yanming Liu, Pei Yu, Eric Lavigne, Jiangning Song, Yuming Guo, and Shanshan Li.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/wildfire-smoke-linked-to-rising-pediatric-mental-health-emergencies/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WildfireSmoke #PediatricMentalHealth #AirPollutionHealth #YouthMentalHealth #ParticulateMatter #EnvironmentalHealth #SchizophreniaRisk #AnxietyDepressionLinked #PublicHealthResearch #NatureMentalHealth
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🥼 NC HEALTH NEWS
🧪 New Environmental Working Group's PFAS contamination map shows danger of PFAS in drinking water in NC. The danger appears to cover most of the state except the mountains.
Per the article: "The Chemours' plant in Fayetteville has a documented history of releasing harmful PFAS chemicals into the Cape Fear River and surrounding environment, and North Carolinians are deeply concerned about the issue."
❔ At the same time, EPA is preparing to scrap regulations for some of these 'forever chemicals'.
Details and map:
https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-drinking-water-forever-chemicals-as-epa-plans-to-scrap-limits-11966408@NCConnect
#EnvironmentalHealth #DrinkingWater #PFAS #Pollution #WaterPollution -
DATE: May 18, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Prenatal air pollution linked to ADHD symptoms in school-age children, but not clinical diagnosis
A study of children from Tarragona, Spain, found that higher prenatal exposure to air pollution (PM10 and PMcoarse particles, NO2, and NOx gases) was associated with modestly higher teacher-reported ADHD symptom scores in school-age participants. However, the study did not find an association between air pollution exposure and a clinical ADHD diagnosis. The paper was published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.
Air pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the air, such as gases, particles, smoke, and chemical pollutants. It can come from traffic, factories, power plants, heating systems, agriculture, fires, and natural sources such as dust storms. Air pollution is typically described in terms of the substances that comprise it and the size of the particles in the air.
For example, PM2.5 refers to very small airborne particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. These particles are especially concerning because they can enter deep into the lungs and may even pass into the bloodstream. PM10 refers to particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less, including dust, pollen, soot, and other larger particles. PMcoarse usually refers to the larger part of PM10, often particles between 2.5 and 10 micrometers in diameter.
NO2, or nitrogen dioxide, is a harmful gas produced mainly by combustion, especially from vehicles and power generation. NOx refers to nitrogen oxides as a group, mainly nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, both of which are produced when fuel is burned at high temperatures. These pollutants can irritate the lungs, worsen asthma, increase the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and contribute to premature death.
Study author Sharanpreet Kaur and his colleagues investigated the association between prenatal exposure to air pollutants (while a child is still in the womb) and the likelihood of ADHD symptoms in an area of Spain with high petrochemical activity. They considered specific symptoms of ADHD and the levels of exposure to air pollutants during different trimesters of pregnancy. These researchers hypothesized that higher exposure to air pollutants would be associated with more severe symptoms of ADHD, and that the association would be stronger in boys than in girls.
They analyzed data from the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Epidemiological Project (EPINED), a study carried out in the region of Tarragona, a province in the north-eastern part of Spain. The data were collected between 2014 and 2019.
The study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a total of 6,894 children were screened for symptoms of ADHD. Of these, 54% of families consented to participate in the study, resulting in 3,727 children becoming study participants (1,929 were girls). The participating children belonged to two age groups: a preschool group, aged 4-5 years, and a school-age group, aged 10-11 years. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires about the presence of ADHD symptoms in these children. Ultimately, 334 children exceeded the ADHD classification threshold, indicating a high risk that they suffer from ADHD.
In the second phase, 781 of the participating children (a mix of high-risk and low-risk kids) were individually evaluated by two qualified psychiatrists and psychologists for ADHD. Children diagnosed with autism were excluded from the analysis. Therefore, a total of 723 children were included in the diagnostic analyses this study is based on. Of these children, 174 suffered from clinical ADHD, and 549 did not.
The study authors combined parent-reported data on where they lived when their children were born with data from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) project. This allowed them to estimate the parents’ exposure to air pollution—in the form of different types of particles and gases—during their pregnancies.
The results showed that higher prenatal exposure to PM10 and PMcoarse particles, as well as NO2 and NOx gases, was associated with more severe teacher-reported ADHD symptoms in the group of school-age children (from the first phase of the study). In contrast, in the group of preschool children, only prenatal exposure to higher levels of O3 (ozone, considered an air pollutant when found near the ground) was found to be associated with teacher-reported emotional lability symptoms.
Further analyses dividing the pregnancies by trimester revealed a critical window of vulnerability. Exposure to PM2.5, PM10, PMcoarse, NO2, and NOx during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy was associated with increased inattention. Furthermore, as the researchers hypothesized, these associations were significantly stronger in males than in females.
However, the study did not find any association between exposure to air pollutants and a formal ADHD diagnosis or a specific pattern of ADHD symptoms.
“Our findings suggest that even modest increases in ADHD symptoms may reflect subtle neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal air pollution exposure. These results highlight early gestation as a vulnerable period and the need for further research on long-term impacts,” the study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the links between environmental factors and ADHD symptoms. However, it should be noted that the study design does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be derived from the results. Also, the strength of the observed associations was modest and found only for teacher-reported symptoms, not parent-reported symptoms or clinical diagnoses.
Finally, the air pollutants associated with ADHD symptom scores differed between the school-aged and preschool children. The researchers suggest this is likely due to developmental shifts; preschoolers are rapidly developing emotional regulation (which appears sensitive to ozone), whereas older children face greater cognitive demands in school, making executive function deficits (driven by particulate matter and nitrogen gases) more apparent.
The paper, “Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution and Risk for Attention-Deficit/ hyperactivity Disorder in Children,” was authored by Sharanpreet Kaur, Josefa Canals-Sans, Paula Morales-Hidalgo, Mònica Guxens, Sami Petricola, and Victoria Arija.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PrenatalAirPollution #ADHDsymptoms #AirPollutionHealth #NO2 #NOx #PM10 #PMcoarse #childdevelopment #environmentalhealth #t Tarragona ADHD study
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DATE: May 15, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Common air pollutants are linked to higher risks of Lewy body and Parkinson’s dementias
Breathing in common air pollutants over many years may substantially raise a person’s risk of developing certain neurodegenerative diseases, pointing to an environmental driver for cognitive decline. A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide is linked to higher rates of Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease dementia. These results suggest that improving air quality could serve as a preventative measure to protect brain health in aging populations.
Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease dementia are related neurological conditions that severely impact memory, thinking, and behavior. Both disorders involve the abnormal buildup of a specific protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. Proteins are the microscopic structures that carry out essential functions inside our cells. When these proteins misfold and clump together, they disrupt normal cellular activity and eventually cause brain cells to die.
In Lewy body dementia, these protein clumps typically cause early cognitive problems, visual hallucinations, and unpredictable shifts in alertness. In Parkinson’s disease, the damage initially affects movement, causing tremors and stiffness, but many patients eventually develop dementia as the disease spreads through the brain. Researchers want to identify environmental triggers that might cause this destructive protein buildup. If external factors contribute to these diseases, modifying our environment might help prevent the onset of symptoms.
Dimitry S. Davydow, a psychiatrist and researcher at the University of Florida College of Medicine, led the investigation into these environmental factors. He collaborated with Gregory M. Pontone, a psychiatrist at the University of Florida, along with a team of environmental scientists and epidemiologists from Aarhus University in Denmark. They aimed to track pollution exposure over a long period to see how it affected older adults. The research team focused specifically on two ubiquitous pollutants found in nearly all modern cities.
The first pollutant, fine particulate matter, consists of tiny airborne particles that are much thinner than a single human hair. Because they are so small, these particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs and easily pass into the bloodstream. The second pollutant is nitrogen dioxide, a toxic, reddish-brown gas. Both of these substances are primarily generated by combustion processes, such as the burning of fossil fuels in car engines and power plants.
The brain is usually protected from harmful substances in the blood by a strict biological filter known as the blood-brain barrier. Some incredibly small particles and gases can bypass this defense system and enter brain tissue directly. Once inside, these pollutants might trigger an aggressive immune response from the brain’s defense cells. Chronic inflammation resulting from this immune response can damage neurons and potentially encourage proteins to misfold.
Another possible entry point for these pollutants is the human nose. The olfactory system, which handles the sense of smell, provides a direct neural path from the outside environment to the brain. People who develop Lewy body dementia or Parkinson’s disease often lose their sense of smell early in the disease process. High levels of air pollution are also associated with a weakened ability to smell, suggesting the nasal cavity could be a gateway for toxic particles.
To investigate these patterns, the research team analyzed national health and population records from Denmark. They gathered de-identified data covering more than two million Danish citizens aged 65 to 95 between the years 2001 and 2021. Denmark maintains comprehensive health registries that track medical diagnoses and residential addresses for its entire population. This detailed record-keeping allowed the researchers to look far back into the patients’ lives with high accuracy.
From this massive dataset, the researchers identified just over 3,000 people diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. They also found about 3,800 individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease dementia. The investigators matched each of these patients with ten control subjects who did not have either condition. The control subjects were chosen to be the exact same sex and born within fourteen days of the patients they were matched with.
Next, the team had to calculate how much pollution each person had breathed in over time. They used a high-resolution mapping system that models air pollution levels across Denmark on a very localized scale. By combining this environmental data with the historical residential addresses of the subjects, they calculated a ten-year average exposure for each person. This average covered the entire decade right before a dementia diagnosis was recorded.
The researchers adjusted their statistical models to account for a wide variety of background factors that might influence brain health. They included the socioeconomic status of the individuals, such as their highest level of education, employment status, and income bracket. They also factored in the general economic conditions of the subjects’ immediate neighborhoods. Finally, they included detailed medical histories, taking into account other physical illnesses and prior psychiatric conditions.
The data revealed a clear connection between higher pollution levels and increased dementia risk. For every small incremental increase in the concentration of fine particulate matter, the risk of developing Lewy body dementia nearly quadrupled. The same incremental increase in this particulate matter was associated with more than double the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease dementia.
Nitrogen dioxide exposure showed a similar, though slightly less dramatic, pattern in the analysis. A fixed increase in the average concentration of this gas almost doubled a person’s chances of developing Lewy body dementia. For Parkinson’s disease dementia, the elevated gas exposure corresponded to a fourteen percent higher risk. In both cases, the connection to pollution was stronger for Lewy body dementia than for the dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers also grouped the subjects based on their total pollution exposure to look for a consistent dose-response relationship. They compared the people who breathed the dirtiest air to those who enjoyed the cleanest air. The group with the highest exposure to fine particulate matter had more than twice the risk for both types of dementia compared to the lowest exposure group.
“These are pollutants most people are exposed to every day,” said Dimitry S. Davydow, M.D., M.P.H., the Lauren and Lee Fixel Professor at the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health. “They come from things like traffic, shipping and other forms of combustion.”
“While this research does not establish causation, it does show a clear association between air pollution exposure and increased risk of these dementias,” said Gregory Pontone, M.D., M.H.S., the Louis and Roberta Fixel Endowed Chair. “It’s an important step in understanding how environmental factors may contribute to disease development.”
The study relied heavily on diagnoses made in hospitals or specialty clinics, which presents a minor limitation. This means the researchers might have missed milder cases of dementia or patients who never sought specialized medical care. If milder cases were missing from the registries, the exact risk calculations might be slightly underestimated by the final analysis.
The team also lacked access to certain personal details that consistently affect health outcomes in older adults. The national databases do not record lifestyle habits like diet, alcohol consumption, or daily exercise routines. The registries also omit details about specific occupational hazards, meaning the team could not account for people who work in heavily polluted industrial settings.
Additionally, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are often emitted from the exact same sources, such as highway traffic. Because the two pollutants frequently exist together in the air, it is incredibly difficult to separate their individual effects on the human body. The researchers noted that these elements might work together simultaneously to cause neurological harm.
Future research could explore exactly how these invisible particles initiate the neurodegenerative process on a cellular level. Scientists hope to investigate whether blocking the brain’s inflammatory response might slow or stop the damage caused by inhaled pollutants. Further studies could also look at how agricultural chemicals, like pesticides, might combine with air pollution to impact brain health over a lifetime.
The study, “Exposure to Air Pollutants and Lewy Body and Parkinson Disease–Related Dementias,” was authored by Dimitry S. Davydow, Gregory M. Pontone, Michael S. Okun, Melissa J. Armstrong, Theresa Wimberley Böttger, Camila Geels, Lise Marie Frohn, Jørgen Brandt, Julie Werenberg Dreier, Jakob Christensen, Carsten Bøcker Pedersen, and Henriette Thisted Horsdal.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AirPollutionAndDementia #LewyBodyDementia #ParkinsonsDiseaseDementia #ALPHA-Synuclein #NeurodegenerativeDisease #CleanAirHealthyBrain #ParticulateMatter #NitrogenDioxide #EnvironmentalHealth #BrainHealthMatters
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"In this interview, Mary McQuilkin from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for One Health Research talks with Dr. Gregory Pietsch, Veterinarian and Assistant Professor of Veterinary Medicine at UAF. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience, Dr. Pietsch discusses the challenges of providing veterinary care in Alaska, the human impact when pets ..."
#onehealth #publichealth #globalhealth #environmentalhealth #medical #climatechange #alaska #uaf #Zoonosis #Rabies
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🦠 Does a hospital’s location shape the microbes in its air?
🔗 Air Bacterial Microbiomes in Hospitals: Case Studies from a Metropolis and a Small City of Thailand. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34133/csbj.0068
📚 CSBJ - A Science Partner Journal: https://spj.science.org/journal/csbj
#Microbiome #HospitalInfections #AirQuality #PublicHealth #InfectionControl #Microbiology #EnvironmentalHealth #PatientSafety #AntimicrobialResistance #Healthcare #MedTech
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#ParkinsonsDisease #EnvironmentalToxins #BrainHealth #Neurology #Mitochondria #Trichloroethylene #EnvironmentalHealth #Podcast #Science #wellbeingwisdom #wellbeingworrior #wellnessjournal #wellbeingcoaching #wellnessguide #wellnessvibes #Research https://mastodon.social/@biohackingpathway/116470015299229303
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Microplastics have been found to interact with the gut microbiome – here’s what health effects they might have
#Health #Environment #Microplastics #GutHealth #IBD #Microbiome #EnvironmentalHealth #Science #Pollution #HealthRisks #Sustainability
https://the-14.com/microplastics-have-been-found-to-interact-with-the-gut-microbiome-heres-what-health-effects-they-might-have/ -
🌍 Radon and indoor air quality don't get the policy attention they deserve. My colleague Alan Whitehead makes that case compellingly in a new article for the International Business Times.
Alan is one of the most trusted communicators in this field — if you follow radon or public health policy, this is worth your time.
#Radon #IndoorAirQuality #PublicHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #OpenScience
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Warning issued to anyone with grey squirrels in garden in April https://www.allforgardening.com/1719272/warning-issued-to-anyone-with-grey-squirrels-in-garden-in-april/ #EnvironmentalHealth #garden #GardenDamagePrevention #GreySquirrels #InvasiveSpecies
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☢️ Main sources of public exposure to ionising radiation—do you know the breakdown?
Natural background radiation and human-made sources both play a role. Understanding this is key for informed policy and protection.
UNSCEAR 2024 (see p.7):
https://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/publications/2024_2.html -
In war-torn cities, air pollution from burning oil depots and bombed buildings unleashes invisible health threats. #Airpollution #Environmentalhealth #Health #Iran #Military #Pollution #USIran #War
https://iwpost.com/in-war-torn-cities-air-pollution-from-burning-oil-depots-and-bombed-buildings-unleashes-invisible-health-threats/?fsp_sid=5520 -
Pioneering Spanish experience in climate shelters practice
A.T.A.-M. and M.O.’s research is funded by the European Union (ERC, IMAGINE adaptation, 101039429). A.T.A.-M. and M.O.’s research…
#NewsBeep #News #Environment #AU #Australia #Climatechange #ClimateChange/ClimateChangeImpacts #Climate-changeadaptation #EnvironmentalHealth #Environmentalimpact #EnvironmentalLaw/Policy/Ecojustice #general #Science
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/562428/ -
Pioneering Spanish experience in climate shelters practice
A.T.A.-M. and M.O.’s research is funded by the European Union (ERC, IMAGINE adaptation, 101039429). A.T.A.-M. and M.O.’s research…
#NewsBeep #News #Environment #ClimateChange #ClimateChangeAdaptation #ClimateChange/ClimateChangeImpacts #environment #environmentalhealth #Environmentalimpact #EnvironmentalLaw/Policy/Ecojustice #general #Science #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/490998/ -
Yesterday we organised a radon training course in Barcelona together with ACPRO.Many thanks to the excellent speakers:
Laura Jornet, Dr Laura Mezquita, Jesús Fernández and Elena Cánovas.
And special thanks to all participants whose thoughtful questions and debates made the session truly engaging.🎥 In this video I share a few reflections after the training.#Radon #EnvironmentalHealth https://youtu.be/JVB3J_1lKWA -
R to @euenvironment: Reducing pollution is not only about protecting ecosystems. It may also contribute to improving mental wellbeing across Europe.
#ZeroPollution #OneHealth #AirQuality #EnvironmentalHealth
Reducing pollution is not only about protecting ecosystems. It may also contribute to improving mental wellbeing...
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https://nitter.net/EUEnvironment/status/2028771329160171999#m -
The Cross-Canada Radon Survey is an important and frequently cited document.
But context matters.
When were the radon measurements conducted?
Building standards and testing methodologies evolve — and interpretation depends on understanding the timeline.Page 60 is worth reviewing.
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Novice gardener shocks social media with photo of ‘actual paradise’ in their front yard: ‘Excellent work!’ https://www.allforgardening.com/1631229/novice-gardener-shocks-social-media-with-photo-of-actual-paradise-in-their-front-yard-excellent-work/ #EnvironmentalHealth #garden #gardener #gardening #GrassLawns #GreenLawn #LocalEnvironment #NativePlants #WaterLevels
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Turbidity And Fecal Indicator Bacteria In Recreational Marine Waters Increase Following The 2018 Woolsey Fire [incl. remote sensing]
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05945-x <-- shared paper
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https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/fire-led-to-spike-in-coastal-bacteria-murky-waters-149527/ <-- shared (NASA) technical / earth observation article
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https://yubanet.com/california/woolsey-fire-led-to-spike-in-bacteria-cloudiness-in-coastal-waters/ <-- shared technical article
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https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022AGUFMGC55H0328L/abstract <-- shared (Harvard) technical article
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https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/california-fire-led-to-spike-in-bacteria-cloudiness-in-coastal-waters/ <-- shared (NASA) TECHNICAL ARTICLE
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#GIS #spatial #mapping #earthobservation #remotesensing #wildfire #runoff #sediment #marine #ocean #coast #coastal #waterquality #turbidity #bacteria #fecal #coliform #enterococcus #WoolseyFire #California #USA #statistics #regression #geostatistics #insitu #sampling #burnarea #plume #ecosystems #habitat #publichealth #environmentalhealth #monitoring