Dementia is a scary word. It means people start forgetting things, lose track of time, and sometimes can’t even recognize their family.
Over 55 million people around the world suffer from it. Usually, we think about dementia as something that happens when we get old or have bad genes.
But what if the air you breathe every day could make it worse?
New studies show that breathing in polluted air—especially from wildfires or farms—might be linked to dementia. Even if the air seems okay according to government standards, it might not be good enough for your brain.
What’s in the Air?
You might wonder how air pollution can affect your brain. Imagine your lungs are the bouncers at a club. They try to keep out the bad stuff, like smoke and tiny bits of dirt.
But some pollutants are so tiny they can sneak past and get deep into your lungs or even into your bloodstream.
These tiny particles, called PM2.5, are smaller than a single strand of hair and can come from different places like cars, factories, construction sites, and of course, wildfires and farms.
Here’s where it gets really interesting. Farms use a lot of chemicals to keep bugs away from crops. These chemicals can also be bad for your brain.
And when wildfires burn, they don’t just burn trees. They can burn houses and other things that give off nasty chemicals when they catch fire.
Why This Matters: What the Research Tells Us
Researchers recently looked at data from over 27,000 people from 1998 to 2016. During that time, about 15% of these folks started showing signs of dementia. Guess what? These people lived in places with more air pollution.
The scientists aren’t entirely sure how the pollution is affecting people’s brains. It could be that the tiny particles go straight to the brain and cause damage there. Or, they could be affecting the heart first, which then affects the brain.
Now, let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean that air pollution will definitely cause dementia. The scientists say they need to study this more. But it does add to the reasons why we should care about clean air.
What Can You Do?
So, what can you do to protect yourself? For starters, if you know the air is bad—like when there’s a wildfire nearby—it’s a good idea to stay indoors.
Using air purifiers at home can also help. And if you have to go out, wearing a mask might protect you from breathing in harmful particles.
Taking care of the air isn’t just about protecting the planet for the future; it’s about protecting ourselves right now. Clean air could mean a healthier, happier brain as we age.
This research is one more wake-up call for us to do better in fighting climate change. We’ve got only one Earth and one brain, so let’s do what we can to protect both.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about how unhealthy blood pressure increases your dementia risk, and coconut oil could help improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and coconut oil could help improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s.
The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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