A new study looking at health records from more than 1.2 million older Southern California patients has found a strong link between small particulate pollution from wildfire smoke and dementia diagnoses.
Researchers were looking at PM 2.5 pollution, made up of particles with diameters at least 30 times smaller than human hair. They found that for every additional microgram from wildfires per cubic meter of air on average over rolling 3-year periods, patients faced an 18% increase in the odds of a dementia diagnosis. The figure for non-wildfire PM 2.5 was just 1%.
“That's a markedly stronger association with wildfire PM 2.5,” said trained epidemiologist and lead author Dr. Holly Elser,a resident neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
“As global climate change drives increasingly intense and frequent wildfire events, particularly in the western U.S. but also elsewhere, these results would suggest that that's a real risk factor for dementia,” she added.
Elser suggested several possible explanations for the greater neurotoxicity of wildfire smoke PM 2.5: The particles are produced at higher temperatures and are smaller on average than other sources, meaning they could cross the blood-brain barrier more easily. Exposure also often comes in short, intense periods. But whatever the source, Elser said the public should monitor their local air quality index.
“And if that number exceeds 100, you want to be very thoughtful about how much time you're spending outside,” she said.
If you have to be outside in bad air, she recommended an N or KN95 mask. At-home air filters, store-purchased or DIY, are also effective at improving indoor air quality.
Given the centrality of climate change in exacerbating the wildfire crisis, Elser said that strong climate action should be the “cornerstone of any proposed solutions to mitigating the health effects of wildfires.”
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
