Air Pollution and Heart Disease Skyrockets Risk for Dementia, Study Says

A study from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet in JAMA Neurology found people with heart disease who live in areas with even minimal air pollution are at elevated risk for dementia, reports CNN . This is thought to be the first study to examine the combined effect of cardiovascular disease and long-term air pollution on cognition. Roughly 3,000 adults, average age 74, were monitored for up to 11 years. All were residents of Stockholm's Kungsholmen district, where the annual average level of particulate matter was low compared to international standards. Not only was long-term exposure to air pollution associated with a higher risk of dementia, but a heart condition amplified this association. The biggest linkage was between stroke, air pollution, and dementia, with stroke accounting for almost half of air pollution-related dementia cases. "Our findings suggest air pollution does play a role in the development of dementia, and mainly through the intermediate step of cardiovascular disease and especially stroke," said Karolinska's Giulia Grande. Sixty-eight percent of the world population are expected to live in urban areas by 2050, where they are continuously exposed to air pollution.