New study hints at hidden Alzheimer’s risk factor affecting older Americans
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People with greater exposure to air pollution may face a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from Emory University in Atlanta.
Air pollution has previously been established as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, as well as other chronic conditions, such as hypertension, stroke and depression, the researchers noted.
Since those other conditions are linked to Alzheimer’s, researchers said it’s still unclear whether air pollution harms brain health on its own or whether it increases the risk of dementia by first triggering those other health problems.
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The study, which was published in the journal PLOS Medicine, investigated more than 27.8 million U.S. Medicare beneficiaries, ages 65 and older, between 2000 and 2018.
Individuals were examined to determine their level of exposure to air pollution and whether they developed Alzheimer’s, focusing on other chronic conditions.
Air pollution may have a direct correlation with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, according to a new study. (iStock)
Greater exposure to air pollution was associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s, which was slightly stronger in people who had had a stroke. Hypertension and depression had “little additional impact,” according to the study’s news release.
The authors concluded that air pollution leads to Alzheimer’s primarily through “direct pathways” and not through other chronic diseases.
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“Our findings suggest that people with a history of stroke may be particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of air pollution on brain health, highlighting an important intersection between environmental and vascular risk factors,” the authors wrote in a statement.
These findings suggest that improving air quality could be “an important way to prevent dementia and protect older adults,” the news release concluded.
Air quality could be “an important way to prevent dementia and protect older adults,” the researchers suggested. (iStock)
News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel confirmed that more studies are revealing that Alzheimer’s is linked to conditions that affect the brain, which can be “sensitive and fragile.”
“Certainly underlying medical conditions like a stroke can cause this,” Siegel, who was not involved in the study, told News Digital.
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This latest study “does not show cause and effect,” the doctor noted, but instead shows a “growing association between air pollution and Alzheimer’s, where particles appear to increase the inflammation in the brain that helps cause it.”
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“This is another piece in the development of a prevention strategy, early diagnosis and specific treatments,” Siegel added.
According to researchers, people with a history of stroke could be more susceptible to the risks of air pollution. (iStock)
Ozama Ismail, PhD, director of scientific programs at the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago, agreed that this study adds to existing research on the impact of air pollution and overall health, especially that related to the brain.
“Alzheimer’s is a complex disease and there are likely a variety of factors…that impact a person’s lifetime risk.”
“This is an area of research where it is vital to do more research to help us better understand the connection between pollution and the various factors that cause or contribute to Alzheimer’s disease,” Ismail, who also did not work on the study, told News Digital.
“Previous studies, including those presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in 2019, 2021 and 2025, have shown evidence of connections between exposure to air pollution and other environmental toxins and the risk of Alzheimer’s or other dementias.”
“Avoiding exposure to air pollution is a risk factor that may be easier for some people to change than others,” one expert said. (iStock)
According to Ismail, the Lancet Commission for the Prevention of Dementia added exposure to air pollution to its list of known dementia risk factors in 2020.
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“We know that Alzheimer’s is a complex disease, and there are likely a variety of factors, in combination, that impact a person’s lifetime risk,” he said. “Avoiding exposure to air pollution is a risk factor that may be easier for some people to change than others.”
News Digital reached out to the study’s authors for comment.
Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for News Digital.