{"id":211925,"date":"2025-09-09T04:36:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T04:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/211925\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T04:36:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T04:36:14","slug":"penn-med-study-finds-higher-air-pollution-exposure-linked-to-dementia-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/211925\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn Med study finds higher air pollution exposure linked to dementia, Alzheimer\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"09-06-25-penn-medicine-chenyao-liu\"\/
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers at Penn\u2019s Perelman School of Medicine recently discovered that higher air pollution exposure correlates with more severe cases of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and clinical dementia.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Chenyao Liu<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine recently found that exposure to higher levels of air pollution is associated with more advanced forms of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and clinical dementia.\n<\/p>\n

The study \u2014 published on Sept. 8<\/a> \u2014 analyzed over six hundred autopsy-confirmed individuals in data collected by Penn\u2019s Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research Brain Bank from 1999 to 2022. The team included researchers from multiple Penn Med departments, utilizing funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Penn professor Eddie Lee, who conducts research at the University’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, spoke to The Daily Pennsylvanian about the significance of the study.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the literature, air pollution \u2014 specifically PM2.5, which is particulate matter of 2.5 microns or smaller \u2014 has been implicated in cognitive decline [and] dementia,\u201d Lee said. \u201cWe were able to estimate how much air pollution each person was exposed to before they passed away based on where they lived.”\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Lee emphasized that his research \u201cbegan decades ago\u201d using cases from the past 20 years, which allowed the Penn team to effectively \u201cstudy the relationship between various environmental factors and neurodegenerative diseases.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He also mentioned the \u201cimportance of stable, long-term funding from the NIH,\u201d allowing the research team to access the necessary materials.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n

\u201cThis brain bank has been funded this whole entire time by the NIH,\u201d Lee said. \u201cWithout the NIH funding, this would never have happened.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Holly Elser, a clinical fellow in the Division of Cognitive Neurology who collaborated with Lee, similarly described the relevance of Alzheimer\u2019s research today.\n<\/p>\n

Elser lived and studied in northern California during \u201csome of the most historic wildfire seasons,\u201d when she became particularly \u201cinterested in the health effects of wildfires.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

She noted that other studies, including her November 2024 paper <\/a>on the association between wildfires and dementia diagnoses, also indicate \u201cthat wildfires are associated with dementia diagnoses.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cGood research begets more research,\u201d Elser said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Both researchers noted limitations in the study that correspond to certain groups excluded from the analysis.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very specific kind of person who ends up in an autopsy study,\u201d Elser said. \u201cThey tend to be people who are highly educated [and] who are really invested in participating in clinical research.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Elser described her hope to investigate the issue among a \u201cslightly more diverse population.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

In the paper\u2019s review process, according to Lee, the team attempted different measures of analysis \u2014\u00a0such as time and \u201csocioeconomic status\u201d \u2014 and found that \u201cno matter how [they] analyze the data,\u201d the relationship between air pollution and Alzheimer\u2019s disease pathology was \u201csignificant.\u201d\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tSign up for our newsletter<\/p>\n

Get our newsletter, DP Daybreak, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.<\/p>\n

According to Lee, Alzheimer\u2019s disease is not the only clinical repercussion of pollution.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere probably is an effect of air pollution on your heart and lungs and cerebrovascular disease,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI think air pollution probably has multiple different ways of affecting the brain, where exacerbation of Alzheimer’s disease is one of them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Lee concluded that while air pollution is probably \u201cexacerbating or worsening\u201d Alzheimer\u2019s, it is \u201cnot necessarily causing it.\u201d He cautioned against the \u201chysteria factor\u201d associated with the study\u2019s findings, noting that people should not \u201cfreak out\u201d about developing dementia from \u201ca little bit of air pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.<\/p>\n

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