Compared with last year, air quality in the Pearl River Delta region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has improved. (Photo : Reuters)
Exposure to air pollution for sustained amount of time can cause serious brain damage in people such as shrinking of the brain and premature aging, a new study published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke revealed.
More than 900 healthy adults from New England took part in the study. Researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in comparing the brain structure and size of subjects, who were above 60 years old.
According to Uncover California, with every increase of two micrograms in fine particle pollution, the brain volume decreased by 0.32 percent of the study's subjects. Moreover, car exhaust and vehicular pollution account for the maximum increase in the fine particle pollution.
Elissa Wilker, a researcher in cardiovascular epidemiology research unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston) remarked that this decrease in brain volume is equivalent to about a year of aging. Wilker added that this study is a pioneer in itself, as it provides an opportunity to the researchers to study the co-relation between climate change and its subsequent effect on the human body.
Furthermore, The Hoops News reported that prolonged exposure to air pollution in individuals raises their chances of experiencing a silent stroke. The odds increase by an astounding 46 percent. This is likely to increase the risk of dementia in adults as well.
While earlier studies focused on the impact of pollution of the cognitive development of children's brains, this study is the first of its kind to establish a relation between air pollution and the brain degradation for adults. It poses a warning sign to eliminate air pollution from the face of the planet to counter the negative effects of the decades of exploitation.
