California found that among women in the US aged 74-92, a 10% decrease in ambient PM 2.5 in the area surrounding their home reduced their likelihood of developing dementia by 14%. A similar study published the same day of people over age 65 in France found a 17% decrease in the likelihood of Alzheimer’s for every microgram of pollutant per cubic meter of air. And a third, published July 9, found that in North Carolina zip codes with elevated levels of PM 2.5, the rate of hospitalizations and deaths from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia was significantly higher than in zip codes with lower levels of PM 2.5. Each of the studies controlled for potentially confounding variables like differences in race and gender (Alzheimer’s is more common in women and in Black people), smoking, and the presence of other environmental pollutants like arsenic in soil.
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