PM2.5 exposure may impair cognitive abilities in kids, raise Alzheimer’s risk in adults

Image for representational purpose only. Photo Courtesy: Satej Shinde

Long-term exposure to air pollution particles like PM2.5 can prove to be detrimental to memory and cognition in people of all ages, finds a study, even as the air quality in the national capital continues to remain in the poor category.

On Saturday morning, a layer of smog covered Delhi-NCR with the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national Capital registering a 'poor' rating.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's average AQI was 294 at 7:30 A.M. on Saturday, with 18 areas reporting AQI levels above 300, indicating a 'very poor' category.

The peer-reviewed study based on 8,500 children found that air pollution caused by ammonium nitrate -- which is usually a result of agricultural and farming operations -- can lead to poor learning and memory performance in children between 9- and 10 years of age.

"The specific component of fine particle air pollution, or PM2.5, ammonium nitrate, is also implicated in Alzheimer's and dementia risk in adults, suggesting that PM2.5 may cause neurocognitive harm across the lifespan," noted the findings appearing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Ammonium nitrate is formed when ammonia gas and nitric acid, produced by agricultural activities and fossil fuel combustion, respectively, react in the atmosphere.

Megan Herting, an associate professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) called "for more detailed research on particulate matter sources and chemical components".

Understanding the nuances can help in regulating air quality & decoding long-term neurocognitive effects, Herting said.

For the study, the team used special statistical techniques to look at 15 chemical components in PM2.5 and their sources. They found ammonium nitrate as a prime suspect.

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