Last Updated on June 2, 2019
A recent study looking at how close people were to sources of pollution and the shrinkage of their brains showed that higher fine particulate pollution was associated with smaller total brain volume and to silent strokes.
For every 2-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, a range of fine particles common across a metropolitan region, was associated with 0.32% smaller total brain volume and a 1.46 times higher risk for silent stroke.
The researchers say the magnitude of the effect was similar to roughly 1 year of brain aging.