Avoiding contact with air pollution not only safeguards your respiratory system but also benefits your brain, as per a McMaster University expert.
Russell de Souza, a professor at the Hamilton-based institution, highlighted that prolonged exposure to two common air pollutants was linked to “slight variations in brain health that were quantifiable.”
De Souza, affiliated with the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at the university, co-authored a research paper released on May 13 in the publication Stroke.
The study investigated the impact of exposure to prevalent air pollutants on the cognitive performance of approximately 7,000 Canadian participants, as revealed by de Souza during an interview on CBC’s London Morning radio program.
The study participants, enrolled between 2014 and 2018, had an average age of 57 and were from various Canadian provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. The researchers assessed their exposure to air pollution in the five years leading up to the study.
One of the pollutants under scrutiny was fine particulate matter, commonly present in sources such as wildfire smoke, industrial discharges, and vehicle emissions. The other pollutant was nitrogen dioxide, a gas also emitted from vehicle exhausts.
Brain health assessments were conducted using the Montréal Cognitive Assessment, involving memory recall tasks, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, where participants matched numbers with corresponding symbols.
“These tests collectively gauge the brain’s capabilities and its efficiency,” de Souza explained.
Researcher notes detectable declines but not severe ones
The study revealed that exposure to both air pollutants led to reduced scores on the cognitive tests.
De Souza clarified, “The declines observed are not drastic enough for individuals to notice and suddenly feel extremely forgetful,” emphasizing the importance of early detection to prevent further deterioration.
According to the professor, Canada has made significant progress in combating air pollution, resulting in some of the cleanest air globally.
However, he mentioned that recent years have seen the impact of “climate-induced wildfires” somewhat counteracting these achievements.
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in Canada, and a growing number of never-smokers are getting diagnosed. Dr. Nicole Ezer, director of McGill University Health Centre’s lung cancer screening centre, explains why this is happening and how workplace and environmental exposures may be contributing.
For