Air pollution can erode cognitive abilities, so vote carefully!

HEALTH FLASH

Air pollution can erode cognitive abilities

Times of India 16^th Feb 2012

    Older women might wonder why they are unable to recall names or places or where they keep their things. Chronic exposure to particulate air pollution might be to blame, says a new study. Women, exposed to higher levels of ambient particulate matter over long term, experienced more decline in their cognitive functioning (process by which one becomes aware of, perceives or comprehends ideas) over a four-year period.
    Higher levels of long-term exposure to both coarse and fine particulate matter, usually suspended in air, were linked with significantly faster cognitive decline. Exposure to particulate matter is also tied with cardiovascular risk, which itself may play a role in causing or accelerating cognitive decline, the journal Archives of Internal Medicine reports. Jennifer Weuve, assistant professor of internal medicine at Rush University Institute of Healthy Aging, US, evaluated air pollution, both coarse and fine, bearing on cognitive decline in older women. The study involved 19,409 women aged 70 to 81 years over a 14-year period. “Our study explored chronic exposure to particulate air pollution in relation to decline in cognitive functioning among older women,” said Weuve.
    IANS