Does taffic pollution cause dementia?

A CANADIAN research team has found that the rate of dementia in the population is higher among those who live near busy roads.

The research followed a massive sample – nearly two million people – in Ontario over eleven years at the start of this century. The findings, which were published in the Lancet, show that the incidence of dementia was greatest in those living closet to the busy road and gradually receded as the distance from the road grew.

However, although the statistics do suggest there must be some link between dementia and traffic, researchers have not investigated what it is about traffic that would be causing the dementia to develop. The Canadians suggest that up to 11% of dementia cases in people living within 50m of a busy road could be caused by traffic and suggest that it is either the air pollution or the noise that is to blame.

UK experts have acknowledged that the research is interesting but, as yet, inconclusive. While it has been established that air pollution consisting of very fine particles as well as noxious gases can affect the brain, this has so far been considered mainly as a particular danger to children. Air pollution is measured throughout the day in a number of Tower Hamlets schools, with pupils sometimes having to be kept indoors rather than play outside when pollutants are high. There is no proof yet that changes to the brain caused by traffic bring on dementia in otherwise well people or hasten the onset of the condition in those with a predisposition to it. If such a link is established by further research, this will have a major impact on areas such as Tower Hamlets, which suffers a great deal from the volume of people driving through the area, not just within it – as well as from goods being transported into central London.

Until more work is done on the development of dementia, medical experts have advised that the risk of developing dementia can be reduced by people stopping smoking, eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise – which will have the additional benefit of reducing the risks of developing heart disease and diabetes too.

Ironically, the Canadian findings were published just as the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders announced that 2.69 new cars were registered in the UK in 2016 – a 2% increase on 2015.

•For more information about dementia, go to: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

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