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Exposure to air pollution, even over the course of just a few weeks, can impede mental performance, according to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. However, these adverse effects were lessened in people taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin. The study is among the first to explore short-term air pollution exposures and the use of NSAIDs to mitigate their effects. The results are published in the journal
Nature Aging.
Examples of events that would increase someone s exposure to air pollution over the short term could include forest fires, smog, second-hand cigarette smoke, charcoal grills, and gridlock traffic.
Air pollution makes older men think and speak less clearly
Even short-term spikes in airborne particles can damage brain health, Columbia University study finds
3 May 2021 • 9:23pm
The findings ‘stress the impact that air pollution is having on human health’, researchers said
Credit: Nick Ansell/PA
Air pollution causes older men to think and speak less clearly, according to researchers at Columbia University, and even short-term spikes in airborne particles can damage brain health.
In a study of nearly 1,000 white men with an average age of 69, scientists found mental performance fell after rises in air pollution a month before testing. This occurred even when peak levels of air pollution were below safety thresholds set by the World Health Organisation.
Being exposed to higher air pollution levels for a month could speed up cognitive decline in older men, a study has suggested.
Researchers found people performed poorer in recall and reaction time tests if air pollution levels increased in the 28 days before they were quizzed.
But men taking commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin were less affected, scientists discovered.
The study, by Peking University in China, looked at a cohort of nearly 1,000 men with an average age of 70 who lived in Boston in the US.
Cognitive function was assessed using a series of tests over time to determine their memory, attention and learning.
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