The role of cardiovascular disease in the relationship between air pollution and incident dementia: a population-based cohort study

The risk of dementia was associated with exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), with hazard ratios of 1.10 and 1.29, respectively.

• Higher exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 may moderately increase the risk of developing dementia in older adults.
• Among the 34,391 older adults studied, there was an estimated 100 additional cases of dementia per 100,000 individuals associated with NO2 exposure.
• The risk associated with PM2.5 exposure suggested an increase of 200 additional cases per 100,000 individuals.
• A greater proportion of the relationship between PM2.5 and dementia was mediated through cardiovascular disease compared to NO2.
• Results indicate that enhancing cardiovascular health could potentially help mitigate dementia risk linked to air pollution exposure.

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