Why does it matter?

Given that air pollution is already established as undesirable for many reasons, including its negative impact on health, why is it important to study the link to dementia? 

There are currently 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK. With that number set to rise to over one million by 2025, it is more important than ever that we understand factors that increase risk and find ways to limit their effects.

If research can demonstrate that air pollution does directly cause damage or changes to the brain that result in dementia it could be possible to develop new ways to block or limit these effects. This could potentially result in a significant reduction in the number of new cases of dementia.

What needs to be done?

It is clear that more research is required to understand exactly how air pollution affects our bodies and brains. However, there is no reason to delay taking action at a personal and a political level.

The World Health Organisation estimates that a staggering 91 per cent of the global population live in areas where the level of air pollution exceeds the recommended limits 2.

While in the UK, the government’s most recent Clean Air Strategy proposes to reduce particulate matter (2.5) by 46 per cent, nitric oxide by 73 per cent, sulphur dioxide by 88 per cent, ammonia by 16 per cent and non-methane volatile organic compounds such as benzene and formaldehyde by 39 per cent by 2030. They propose that this will be achieved through enforcement of legislation addressing both national and local sources of pollution. 

Research

Research has already done enough to show that air pollution negatively affects our health in a way that could indirectly increase our risk of dementia.

To shed further light on this topic and to undercover more on the potential direct effect of air pollution, research needs to:

  • Greater investment into the effect of air pollution on the brain is needed – this requires both long-term epidemiology to clarify whether there are any points in life when air pollution is particularly harmful as well as and biomedical research.
  • Provide evidence of how air pollution affects different types of dementia rather than lumping all forms of the condition together in their analysis.
  • Use more dependable methods of measuring exposure to air pollution.

How can I reduce my exposure to air pollution?

Though research can’t yet give us all the answers about the potential connection between air pollution and dementia, it is clear that it is a major global health concern.

Real change will only come through politicians changing legislation and policies to improve the quality of the air we breathe.