Friday, September 14, 2018

We’re just learning how exposure to air pollution degrades our brains

There are all kinds of impurities from industrial activities like manufacturing and transportation that can poison the air. The smallest seems to be the most sinister. Particles called PM2.5, which come from burning fossil fuels, including gasoline for transportation, are just two-and-a-half millionths of a meter or smaller in diameter, small enough to make their way from the lungs into the bloodstream. In 2015, there were 4.2 million deaths related to exposure to PM2.5 worldwide, the equivalent of more than 7% of all deaths that year. Over 95% of the global population is exposed daily to PM2.5 levels that the World Health Organization considers dangerous.

A growing body of evidence is starting to show that exposure to PM2.5 pollution is also tied to poor cognitive function in children and adults, and an uptick of dementia rates in the elderly.

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