The Possible Connection Between Pollution and Dementia
Is pollution causing a rise in dementia in seniors?
A recent article in USA Today (August 16, 2015) cites a study of patients in 21 countries from 1989 to 2010 that indicates modern living could be responsible for an ‘almost epidemic’ increase in neurological brain disease. Published in the journal Surgical Neurology International the study found that dementias are starting a decade earlier than they used to in adults. Furthermore, deaths caused by neurological disease have risen significantly in adults aged 55-74, and for adults 75+, the rate has virtually doubled in every Western country in just the last 20 years.
The Centers for Disease Control defines dementia as “an umbrella term for a group of cognitive disorders typically characterized by memory impairment, as well as marked difficulty in the domains of language, motor activity, object recognition, and disturbance of executive function – the ability to plan, organize, and abstract.”
While Alzheimer’s disease is the most common and well-known form of dementia, there are several other forms, too. Alzheimer’s disease usually occurs in individuals who are 60 years old and older. Starting at age 65, the risk of developing the disease doubles every five years. By age 85 years and older, between 25 and 50 percent of people will exhibit signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Up to 5.3 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s disease. By 2050, the number is expected to more than double due to the aging of the population. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and is the fifth leading cause among persons age 65 and older.
There are a number of studies that suggest behaviors that might lessen the risk of seniors developing the disease. Among these are increasing physical activity, having a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, maintaining social engagement, and participating in intellectually stimulating activities. Some studies suggest that the prevention of diseases that damage blood vessels such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes may also lessen the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Other studies are investigating the use of vitamin C and E as well as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and indomethacin.
While the factors that cause dementia are largely unknown, conditions that may cause dementia or dementia-like symptoms include reactions to medications, nutritional deficiencies, infections, poisoning, brain tumors, and anoxia or hypoxia (conditions in which the brain’s oxygen supply is either reduced or cut off entirely). Now researchers believe pollution may be a factor as well.
“The rate of increase in such a short time suggests a silent or even a ‘hidden’ epidemic, in which environmental factors must play a major part, not just aging,” lead author of the study, Colin Pritchard, wrote in a press release. “Modern living produces multi-interactional environmental pollution but the changes in human morbidity, including neurological disease is remarkable and points to environmental influences.”
Professor Pritchard continued, “Crucially it is not just because people are living longer to get diseases they previously would not have lived long enough to develop but older people are developing neurological disease more than ever before.
“The environmental changes in the last 20 years have seen increases in the human environment of petro-chemicals — air transport, quadrupling of motor vehicles, insecticides and rises in background electro-magnetic-field, and so on.
“These results will not be welcome news as there are many with short-term vested interests that will want to ignore them. It is not that we want to stop the modern world but rather make it safer.”
Certainly, most professionals agree that dementia is caused by a complex interplay of factors, but the new study is interesting in that it considers environmental contaminants as potentially one of the factors involved as well.
BLOG Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Writer: Ryan Allen