Pollutants from road traffic would be associated with memory, oral expression or decision-making problems, according to a French study.
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Alzheimer, dementia, difficulty of speech … a study Posted in The Lancet Planetary Health , Thursday, March 10, combines air pollution with a decrease in cognitive performance: plus a person is exposed to a polluted air, plus its mental functions will be affected.
To achieve this result, researchers from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), from the University of Rennes and the School of High Public Health Studies analyzed the data more than 61,000 French aged over 45 years old. These participants are part of the French epidemiological cohort constants and were randomly recruited from the lists of health insurance. The researchers have established a score of their cognitive performance from tests measuring memory, oral expression fluidity (verbal fluence) and the ability to make decisions (executive functions).
Then the researchers have superimposed these results with so-called “exhibition” maps that estimate the concentration of pollutants at the address of the home of each participant. In this study, three pollutants have been taken into account: the fine particles (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (no 2 ) and soot carbon. “We focused on these three pollutants because they are associated with or from the automotive traffic,” says Bénédicte Jacquemin, inherited insert and co-author of the study. The scientific evidence in all areas of health show that these pollutants are probably the most harmful to health. “
An” modifiable “risk factor
According to the study, not only exposure to greater pollutant concentrations would be significantly associated with a lowest level of cognitive performance but each pollutant would act differently on these performances. “The most impacted capabilities are verbal fluency and executive functions, precise Bénédicte Jacquemin. Nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 particles act advantage over verbal fluency, while carbon soot has a greater impact on Executive functions. “
For the most exposed participants, the researchers found a difference ranging from 1 to nearly 5% of the cognitive performance score compared to less exposed participants. “Five percent at the individual level, it does not have a strong impact, explains the researcher. But our results are very important at the level of the population because everyone, or almost, is exposed to an atmospheric pollution level more high that what is recommended by WHO. “
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