Flames and smoke rise as firefighters continue to battle the Park Fire near the city of Chico in the northern Sacramento Valley of California, USA, on July 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves/Reuters
A new study suggests that wildfire smoke may be more damaging to brain health than other types of air pollution, leading to an increased risk of dementia.
The findings, presented Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, came as millions of people spent a weekend under air pollution warnings as wildfire smoke billowed across the western U.S.
The problem is fine particulate matter (PM2.5) – tiny particles about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. This pollution, which comes from traffic, factories and fires, can cause or exacerbate heart and lung disease, and this new study adds further evidence that it may also play a role in dementia.
The researchers tracked the health records of 1.2 million seniors in Southern California from 2009 to 2019. They used air quality monitoring and other data to estimate residential exposure to PM2.5 from wildfire smoke and other sources over a three-year period.
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The study found that for every 1-microgram increase in wildfire particle concentrations, the odds of a new dementia diagnosis increased by about 21 percent, compared with a 3-microgram increase in non-wildfire particle concentrations, which increased the risk by 3 percent, researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Pennsylvania concluded.
It’s not clear why there might be a difference, but as wildfires increase, more research is needed, said Maria Carillo, chief science officer at the Alzheimer’s Association. That’s especially important, she said, considering that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is higher in lower-income communities, where unhealthy air is harder to avoid.
Health warnings urge people to stay indoors when air quality is poor, but “there are many people who don’t have the option to stay home or who work outdoors,” she noted.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Education Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Flames and smoke rise as firefighters continue to battle the Park Fire near the city of Chico in the northern Sacramento Valley of California, USA, on July 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves/Reuters
