Air pollution has a clear impact on our ability to breathe and has been linked to many health risks, such as heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema. Now, scientists have uncovered another possible hidden risk of air pollution: dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health conducted an analysis of 14 prior studies and concluded that chronic exposure to air containing high levels of pollution classified as “fine particulate matter” was consistently associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s, Bloomberg reported.
This increased risk applied to those exposed to air pollution levels below the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard.