Fine particle exposure and neurodegenerative diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s Diseases (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affect thousands worldwide. As of now there is not cure or effective treatments for such conditions. A number of studies suggest long-term exposure to the air pollutant fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as a potential contributor to disease aggravation in neurodegenerative diseases, however, the link remains uncertain. Determining whether PM2.5 exposure contributes to disease aggravation can provide valuable information not only for PM2.5 regulation but also to improve patient prognosis and post-diagnosis care.
Using patients’ first hospitalization as a proxy for disease aggravation, Nunez et al. examined the effect of prolong exposure to PM2.5 in AD, PD, and ALS disease aggravation using data from New York State (NYS) from 2000 to 2014. In order to evaluate the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and disease hospitalizations, the authors assigned exposures based on patients’ county of residence and year of hospitalization. They accounted for differences in socioeconomic status, urbanicity, and temporal trends such as temperature, in order to rule out any potential confounding.
With respect to the three neurodegenerative diseases in question, Nunez et al. found varying outcomes. While Nunez et al. did not find a conclusive association between PM2.5 exposure and AD aggravation, they did find that exposure contributed to disease aggravation in PD and ALS patients. The authors also found that these associations varied by patient age, highlighting areas for further research. Because many different pollutants contribute to PM2.5 levels, Nunez et al. also highlighted the need for studying specific PM2.5 components in order to bring insight into potential toxicological mechanism and provide information for source targeted PM2.5 regulations. In this paper, Nunez et al. make a crucial contribution to understanding the relationship between air pollution and neurogenerative disease aggravation.
Nunez Y, Boehme A, Weisskopf M, Re D, Navas-Acien A, von Donkelaar A, Martin R, Kioumourtzoglou MA. Fine particle exposure and clinical aggravation in neurodegenerative diseases in New York state. Environ Health Perspect. 2021 Feb;129(2). doi: 10.1289/EHP7425