Air toxics and late-life dementia and cognitive impairment in Mexican Americans

Higher levels of 1,3-butadiene are associated with a 12% increased risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND) among older Mexican Americans.

• Long-term exposure to modeled air toxics, including benzene, 1,3-butadiene, lead, nickel, chromium, and zinc, was examined for its potential link to cognitive decline.
• A hazard ratio of 1.12 was observed for 1,3-butadiene, suggesting a possible connection to incident dementia or CIND with each inter-quartile range increase.
• Benzene, zinc, and nickel also showed positive associations with dementia or CIND, although their confidence intervals included the null, indicating uncertainty.
• The study analyzed a cohort of 1,612 Mexican American participants over a span of nearly a decade, utilizing land use regression models for exposure estimates.
• Findings indicate that traffic- and industry-related air toxics may negatively impact cognitive health in older adults.

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