Breathing in a stroke

A new study shows that pollution can trigger brain strokes in healthy individuals.

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A new study shows that pollution can trigger brain strokes in healthy individuals.

Delhi is seen as the city worst hit by air pollution in the world now. The Indian Express has been publishing a multi-part series on the problem. A new study shows that pollution can trigger brain strokes in healthy individuals.

Air pollution and brain infarcts
Published in Stroke, journal of the American Heart Association, 2015
Authors: Elissa H Wilker and others

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with cerebrovascular disease and cognitive impairment, but whether it is related to structural changes in the brain is not clear. Researchers studied the associations between residential long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and markers of brain aging using magnetic resonance imaging.

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The study showed that exposure to elevated levels of PM2.5 was associated with smaller total cerebral brain volume, a marker of age-associated brain atrophy, and with higher odds of covert brain infarcts. The findings suggest that air pollution is associated with insidious effects on structural brain aging even in dementia- and stroke-free persons.

Participants in the study in the United States were at least 60 years of age, and free of dementia and stroke. The research evaluated associations between exposures (fine particulate matter [PM2.5] and residential proximity to major roadways) and measures of total cerebral brain volume, hippocampal volume, white matter hyperintensity volume (log-transformed and extensive white matter hyperintensity volume for age), and covert brain infarcts.