A recent study revealed that air pollution has a direct impact on neurological diseases.
Based on this, one in eight urgent hospital admissions for neurological diseases such as dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis is related to air pollution.
The research analyzed more than 15,000 hospitalizations in Spain to reach this conclusion.
The Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) led this research that established a concerning connection between air quality and brain health.
Scientists examined 15,437 urgent hospitalizations recorded between 2013 and 2018 in ten Spanish provinces.
The results showed that 12.5% of admissions for neurological causes can be attributed to air pollution.
This represents nearly 2000 hospitalizations directly related to exposure to air pollutants during the analyzed period.
Ozone and nitrogen dioxide pollution: the main culprits of neurological diseases
The study, published in Atmospheric Environment, identified three key pollutants responsible for these hospital admissions:
- Tropospheric ozone: 1,107 attributable hospitalizations
- Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): 581 attributable hospitalizations
- Suspended particles (PM10 and PM2.5): 245 attributable hospitalizations
Ozone proved to be the most dangerous pollutant for neurological health, with more than double the cases of nitrogen dioxide and almost five times more than suspended particles.
The research was conducted as a retrospective ecological study in the most populated provinces:
- Granada;
- Baleares;
- Vizcaya;
- Gipuzkoa;
- Las Palmas;
- Barcelona;
- A Coruña;
- Madrid;
- Alicante, and;
- Valencia
Scientists analyzed the daily average concentrations of pollutants and their correlation with urgent admissions.
Pollution has a greater impact on neurological diseases than cardiovascular ones
The findings revealed that the percentage of admissions for neurological diseases attributable to pollution is almost double that recorded in cardiovascular (7.7%) and respiratory diseases (7.8%).
It also multiplies by five the percentage of pollution in admissions for any cause, estimated at 2.5%.
The research team, coordinated by Drs. Julio Díaz and Cristina Linares from the Department of Climate Change, Health, and Urban Environment, attributed this high value to the fact that the study focused on the ten provinces with the largest population and highest levels of air pollution.
Thus, scientific evidence indicates that air pollution could be responsible for the etiology of some neurological diseases and the exacerbation of their symptoms, as highlighted in the published article.
Extreme temperatures also influence
In addition to pollution, the study analyzed the effect of extreme temperatures on admissions for neurological diseases.
Approximately 150 hospitalizations (1% of the total) were related to heat and cold waves: 0.6% with cold waves and 0.4% with heat waves.
In total, 13.5% of the admissions for neurological diseases analyzed were attributed to environmental variables, with air pollution as the predominant factor.
Therefore, the researchers recommended the “urgent” adoption of more measures aimed at reducing the levels of pollution to which the population is exposed.
They considered the aging population and the increase of inhabitants in large cities as fundamental.
They also pointed out that including people with neurological diseases in extreme temperature prevention plans as a vulnerable group would result in a significant decrease in admissions related to heat and cold waves.
