Environmental Research Group, School of Public Health, Imperial College, Sir Michael Uren Hub, 86 Wood Ln, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
Environ Health. 2024 Apr 5;23(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s12940-024-01075-1.
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.
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 NO, PM, PM 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.
Increasing long-term exposure per interquartile range (IQR) of NO (IQR: 13.05 μg/m), PM (IQR: 3.35 μg/m) and PM (IQR: 2.7 μg/m) 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 NO, PM and PM 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.
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 NO, PM and PM 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.
越来越多的研究表明，暴露于环境空气污染会对认知功能产生不良影响，但证据仍然有限。我们调查了在英国老龄化纵向研究（ELSA）队列的老年人群中长期暴露于空气污染物与认知功能之间的关联。
我们的样本包括来自 ELSA 的 8883 名个体，这是一项对年龄≥50 岁的人群进行的全国代表性研究，从 2002 年开始随访至 2017 年。通过 CMAQ-城市扩散模型对空气污染物暴露进行建模，并将其分配给参与者的居住邮政编码。每两年收集一次记忆和执行功能的认知测试分数。使用混合效应模型，根据时间变化的年龄、体力活动和吸烟状况以及基线性别和教育水平，调整了这些认知测量与环境浓度的 NO、PM、PM 和臭氧暴露之间的关联。
长期暴露于每个四分位距（IQR）的 NO（IQR：13.05μg/m）、PM（IQR：3.35μg/m）和 PM（IQR：2.7μg/m）分别与复合记忆测试分数下降 0.10（95%置信区间[CI]：-0.14，-0.07）、-0.02[-0.04，-0.01]和-0.08[-0.11，-0.05]相关。NO、PM 和 PM 相同的增加与执行功能得分下降-0.31[-0.38，-0.23]、-0.05[-0.08，-0.02]和-0.16[-0.22，-0.10]相关。在这两个测试中，臭氧的关联都是相反的。在伦敦居住的参与者亚组中也报告了类似的结果。
本研究基于长期随访，每个队列参与者进行了多次重复测量，并在精细的空间尺度上进行了长期的空气污染暴露评估。在英国老年人中，长期暴露于 NO、PM 和 PM 与认知功能下降有关。这一证据可以为与认知能力下降相关的可改变环境暴露相关的政策提供信息。
