Dataset Information

Exposure to ambient air pollution and cognitive function: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Background

An increasing number of studies suggest adverse effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on cognitive function, but the evidence is still limited. We investigated the associations between long-term exposure to air pollutants and cognitive function in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort of older adults.

Methods

Our sample included 8,883 individuals from ELSA, based on a nationally representative study of people aged ≥ 50 years, followed-up from 2002 until 2017. Exposure to air pollutants was modelled by the CMAQ-urban dispersion model and assigned to the participants' residential postcodes. Cognitive test scores of memory and executive function were collected biennially. The associations between these cognitive measures and exposure to ambient concentrations of NO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and ozone were investigated using mixed-effects models adjusted for time-varying age, physical activity and smoking status, as well as baseline gender and level of education.

Results

Increasing long-term exposure per interquartile range (IQR) of NO₂ (IQR: 13.05 μg/m³), PM₁₀ (IQR: 3.35 μg/m³) and PM_2.5 (IQR: 2.7 μg/m³) were associated with decreases in test scores of composite memory by -0.10 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.14, -0.07), -0.02 [-0.04, -0.01] and -0.08 [-0.11, -0.05], respectively. The same increases in NO₂, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were associated with decreases in executive function score of -0.31 [-0.38, -0.23], -0.05 [-0.08, -0.02] and -0.16 [-0.22, -0.10], respectively. The association with ozone was inverse across both tests. Similar results were reported for the London-dwelling sub-sample of participants.

Conclusions

The present study was based on a long follow-up with several repeated measurements per cohort participant and long-term air pollution exposure assessment at a fine spatial scale. Increasing long-term exposure to NO₂, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 was associated with a decrease in cognitive function in older adults in England. This evidence can inform policies related to modifiable environmental exposures linked to cognitive decline.

SUBMITTER: Wood D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10996194 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Exposure to ambient air pollution and cognitive function: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing cohort.

Wood Dylan D Evangelopoulos Dimitris D Beevers Sean S Kitwiroon Nutthida N Demakakos Panayotes P Katsouyanni Klea K

Environmental health : a global access science source 20240405 1

<h4>Background</h4>An increasing number of studies suggest adverse effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on cognitive function, but the evidence is still limited. We investigated the associations between long-term exposure to air pollutants and cognitive function in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort of older adults.<h4>Methods</h4>Our sample included 8,883 individuals from ELSA, based on a nationally representative study of people aged ≥ 50 years, followed-up from 200 ...[more]

PMID: 38575976

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Project description:BackgroundPrenatal and early life air pollution exposure may impair healthy neurodevelopment, increasing risk of childhood behavioral disorders, but epidemiological evidence is inconsistent. Little is known about factors that determine susceptibility.MethodsParticipants were mother-child dyads from the CANDLE study, an ECHO PATHWAYS Consortium birth cohort set in the mid-South United States, who completed a preschool visit. We estimated prenatal and childhood exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter less than 10 μm (PM10) at participants' residences using a national annual average universal kriging model (land-use regression with spatial smoothing). Distance to nearest major roadway was used as a proxy for traffic-related pollution. Primary outcomes were children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Regression models were adjusted for individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic measures, maternal IQ, and multiple other potential confounders. We tested for effect modification by select maternal and child characteristics.ResultsThe analytic sample (N = 975 of 1503 enrolled) was 64% African American and 53% had a household annual income below $35,000; child mean age was 4.3 years (SD: 0.4). Mean prenatal NO2 and PM10 exposures were 12.0 ppb (SD: 2.4) and 20.8 μg/m3 (SD: 2.0); postnatal exposures were lower. In fully adjusted models, 2 ppb higher prenatal NO2 was positively associated with externalizing behavior (6%; 95% CI: 1, 11%). Associations with postnatal exposure were stronger (8% per 2 ppb NO2; 95%CI: 0, 16%). Prenatal NO2 exposure was also associated with an increased odds of clinically significant internalizing and externalizing behaviors. We found suggestive evidence that socioeconomic adversity and African American race increases susceptibility. PM10 and road proximity were not associated with outcomes.ConclusionsFindings showed that air pollution exposure is positively associated with child behavior problems and that African American and low SES children may be more susceptible. Importantly, associations were observed at exposures below current air quality standards.

Project description:Importance:Air pollutants interact with estrogen nuclear receptors, but their effect on thyroid signaling is less clear. Thyroid function is of particular importance for pregnant women because of the thyroid's role in fetal brain development. Objective:To determine the short-term association of exposure to air pollution in the first trimester with thyroid function throughout pregnancy. Design, Setting, and Participants:In this cohort study, 9931 pregnant women from 4 European cohorts (the Amsterdam Born Children and Their Development Study, the Generation R Study, Infancia y Medio Ambiente, and Rhea) and 1 US cohort (Project Viva) with data on air pollution exposure and thyroid function during pregnancy were included. The recruitment period for the Amsterdam Born Children and Their Development Study was January 2003 to March 2004; for Generation R, April 2002 to January 2006; for Infancia y Medio Ambiente, November 2003 to January 2008; for Rhea, February 2007 to February 2008; and for Project Viva, April 1999 to November 2002. Statistical analyses were conducted from January 2018 to April 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures:Residential air pollution concentrations (ie, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter [PM]) during the first trimester of pregnancy were estimated using land-use regression and satellite-derived aerosol optical depth models. Free thyroxine, thyrotropin, and thyroid peroxidase antibody levels were measured across gestation. Hypothyroxinemia was defined as free thyroxine below the fifth percentile of the cohort distribution with normal thyrotropin levels, following the American Thyroid Association guidelines. Results:Among 9931 participants, the mean (SD) age was 31.2 (4.8) years, 4853 (48.9%) had more than secondary educational levels, 5616 (56.6%) were nulliparous, 404 (4.2%) had hypothyroxinemia, and 506 (6.7%) tested positive for thyroid peroxidase antibodies. Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) were lower and had less variation in women in the US cohort than those in European cohorts. No associations of nitrogen oxide with thyroid function were found. Higher exposures to PM2.5 were associated with higher odds of hypothyroxinemia in pregnant women (odds ratio per 5-μg/m3 change, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.00-1.47). Although exposure to PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less was not significantly associated with hypothyroxinemia, the coefficient was similar to that for the association of PM2.5 with hypothyroxinemia (odds ratio per 10-μg/m3 change, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.93-1.48). Absorbances of PM2.5 and PM with aerodynamic diameter from 2.5 to 10 μg and were not associated with hypothyroxinemia. There was substantial heterogeneity among cohorts with respect to thyroid peroxidase antibodies (P for heterogeneity, <.001), showing associations of nitrogen oxide and PM with thyroid autoimmunity only in the women in the Generation R Study. Conclusions and Relevance:The findings of this study suggest that first-trimester exposures to PM2.5 were associated with mild thyroid dysfunction throughout pregnancy. The association of PM2.5 exposure with thyroid function during pregnancy is of global health importance because air pollution exposure is widespread and hypothyroxinemia may adversely influence the brain development of offspring.

Project description:BackgroundBecause fine particulate matter [PM, with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5μm (PM2.5)] is a ubiquitous environmental exposure, small changes in cognition associated with PM2.5 exposure could have great societal costs. Prior studies have demonstrated a relationship between in utero PM2.5 exposure and cognitive development in urban populations, but it is not known whether these effects are similar in rural populations and whether they persist into late childhood.ObjectivesIn this study, we tested for associations between prenatal PM2.5 exposure and both full-scale and subscale measures of IQ among a longitudinal cohort at age 10.5 y.MethodsThis analysis used data from 568 children enrolled in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a birth cohort study in California's agricultural Salinas Valley. Exposures were estimated at residential addresses during pregnancy using state of the art, modeled PM2.5 surfaces. IQ testing was performed by bilingual psychometricians in the dominant language of the child.ResultsA 3-μg/m3 higher average PM2.5 over pregnancy was associated with -1.79 full-scale IQ points [95% confidence interval (CI): -2.98, -0.58], with decrements specifically in Working Memory IQ (WMIQ) and Processing Speed IQ (PSIQ) subscales [WMIQ -1.72 (95% CI: -2.98, -0.45) and PSIQ -1.19 (95% CI: -2.54, 0.16)]. Flexible modeling over the course of pregnancy illustrated mid-to-late pregnancy (months 5-7) as particularly susceptible times, with sex differences in the timing of susceptible windows and in which subscales were most affected [Verbal Comprehension IQ (VCIQ) and WMIQ in males; and PSIQ in females].DiscussionWe found that small increases in outdoor PM2.5 exposure in utero were associated with slightly lower IQ in late childhood, robust to many sensitivity analyses. In this cohort there was a larger effect of PM2.5 on childhood IQ than has previously been observed, perhaps due to differences in PM composition or because developmental disruption could alter the cognitive trajectory and thus appear more pronounced as children get older. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10812.

Dataset Information

Exposure to ambient air pollution and cognitive function: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing cohort.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Exposure to ambient air pollution and cognitive function: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing cohort.

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