Study Is rising air pollution making people more and more stupid?

Air pollution affects the mind

Air pollution is on the rise worldwide. Some countries are particularly affected by polluted air. For example, China also belongs to such countries. Researchers have now found that the chronic pollution of polluted air is associated with a decline in cognitive performance. Older men seem to be particularly affected by the negative effects.

Scientists from the internationally acclaimed Yale University and Beijing University have found in their recent research that increased air pollution has a negative impact on cognitive performance. The experts published the results of their study in the English-language journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences..

Older men are particularly affected

The current investigation was conducted in China. There is extreme pollution of the air in this country. In analyzing the negative effects of air pollution, the medical profession found that the damage continued to increase with age. According to the scientists, men with a lower education were particularly hard hit.

Study had 20,000 subjects

For the study, physicians examined and measured the mathematical and verbal skills of 20,000 people over a four-year period. For this, the researchers asked the subjects to perform 24 standardized math tests and 34 predictive tests. The participants were both women and men. Subjects were re-tested in 2010 and then in 2014.

What was investigated?

The study measured participants' exposure to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and other particles less than 10 microns in diameter, the experts explain. However, the scientists did not study the effects of carbon monoxide, ozone or larger particles.

Effects increased in old age

Physicians found that the effects of environmental pollution made participants worse off in their language tests as they got older. Evidence has been found that the negative effects of air pollution on verbal testing become more pronounced in old age, especially among men and less educated people.

Pollution increases the risk of degenerative diseases

The ever-increasing environmental pollution also increases the risk of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia, says study author Xi Chen of the Yale School of Public Health. The current study has allowed researchers to study the effects of air pollution as it progresses.

What causes the deterioration?

How air pollution causes deterioration of cognitive abilities is not yet known. The perceived reduction in cognitive abilities could possibly be due to environmental pollution having a negative effect on white matter in the brain. This could worsen communication between different regions of the brain, study authors explain. (As)