Air pollution doesn’t just harm the lungs and heart—it may also damage the brain and increase the risk of serious neurological diseases, including dementia and Parkinson’s.
That’s the focus of research led by Antonella Zanobetti, an environmental epidemiologist and principal research scientist at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Zanobetti has been studying how environmental factors—such as air pollution and extreme heat—affect deadly neurological and cardiovascular conditions.
In 2020, her team conducted the first nationwide study on how air pollution impacts Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
They hoped to expand this work to explore whether certain protective factors, like access to green space, could reduce risk.
But three of her studies were abruptly halted when the Trump administration canceled a number of Harvard research grants in May, cutting off funding. “It’s crucial to finish all the work we are doing,” Zanobetti said. “The high prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is a major public health issue.”
Neurological disorders are rising worldwide, fueled by aging populations and industrialization. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and death rates for Parkinson’s are climbing rapidly. Globally, the number of people with Parkinson’s is expected to exceed 12 million by 2040.
One of Zanobetti’s canceled projects focused on analyzing Medicare and Medicaid data to see whether long-term air pollution exposure increases hospitalizations for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. This work faced technical challenges because hospital admissions for patients with these conditions often list other issues—such as strokes or falls—as the primary cause.
Her team was developing methods to overcome these data limitations while also studying how heat affects hospitalization rates.
A second project, co-led by researcher Danielle Braun, was looking at the combined impact of high temperatures and air pollutants on Parkinson’s hospitalizations. This study was meant to run for two more years before the funding was cut.
The third halted study, co-led by Petros Koutrakis, aimed to examine the effects of particle radioactivity on heart disease—the leading cause of death in the U.S. Particle radioactivity occurs when airborne radionuclides attach to fine-particle pollution, releasing ionizing radiation into the body after inhalation.
Zanobetti’s previous research has already influenced public policy. Her work on particulate matter helped the Environmental Protection Agency strengthen national air quality standards to reduce health risks. More recently, her team’s findings supported new federal regulations aimed at lowering particulate pollution levels.
Losing the chance to continue this research is a major setback, Zanobetti said. “It’s important to understand the role of environmental exposures in neurological disorders to help shape public health policies. There is so much to discover, and we cannot do it without the necessary support.”
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Source: Harvard University.
