A meta-analysis by the College of Public Health highlights the influence of traffic, walkability, and natural spaces on cognitive health.
A recent study from the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health highlights the significant impact of environmental factors on dementia risk. Led by Assistant Professor Suhang Song in the Department of Health Policy and Management, this meta-analysis reveals that exposure to air pollution and access to natural spaces, such as parks (green spaces) and bodies of water (blue spaces), can influence the likelihood of cognitive decline and dementia.
“These numbers show that living in a dementia-friendly environment is important to delay or prevent cognitive decline and the onset of dementia,” Song said.
Conducting the meta-analysis was important, as was taking several empirical studies to create a clearer picture about environmental risk, Song said. The research combined 54 studies in a systematic review and 21 in the meta-analysis, enabling researchers to quantify the impact of several factors.
While past research has shown the association between environmental factors and dementia risk, Song said the contributions of some factors were worth noting.
Environmental factors could increase dementia risk by 10%
Living near major roadways was associated with a roughly 10% higher risk of dementia, and exposure to fine particulate matter in the air, something that is generated by vehicles and industrial emissions, was associated with a 9% increase in risk. Nitrous Oxide increased risk by 10%, and noise pollution was shown to increase risk by about 9%.
Alternatively, some built environments help reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Green and blue spaces, which include built and natural parks as well as bodies of water, reduced risk by about 6%. Walkability in a community, as well as access to local amenities including food stores, community centers, and health care, also reduced risk.
“Based on these findings, we can suggest that people visit parks or forests more often and also live further from the major roads,” Song said. “Also, living in a community where there is more walkability, or being close to local amenities like bookstores, health care centers and more is helpful.”
Improving urban planning
This data can help inform urban planning efforts moving forward to create more communities that foster cognitive health, Song said.
“The biggest advantage of this paper is to quantify the association between certain factors and cognitive health,” Song said. “This analysis can provide evidence for data-driven urban planning and support decision makers.”
Summarizing objective measurements of environmental factors for future research
This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on studies using objectively measured environmental factors, which may reduce the bias associated with subjective measures such as perceptions of air quality or individual reports of greenspace and an area’s beauty. These instances of self-reported data can sometimes limit the reliability of a study’s conclusions.
Song hopes this study will serve as a foundation for future research, encouraging researchers to prioritize objective measurements in investigating environmental influences on cognition and dementia risk.
Reference: “Objectively measured environmental features and their association with cognition and dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis” by Linlin Da, Xia Song, Zimu Jia, Nicholas Gary Lamont Myers, Jin Sun, Jingkai Wei, Daniel Jung, Feiyang Li and Suhang Song, 7 December 2024, Ageing Research Reviews.
DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2024.102630
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7 Comments
I am a medical anthropologist researcher who studies the cultural causes of disease. I’m glad to see some discussion of dementia that relates to environment. Here is another aspect of dementia that is never discussed. See my article, The Great Escape: The Benefits of Dissociative Dementia. https://www.academia.edu/128139300/The_Great_Escape_The_Benefits_of_Dissociative_Dementia_
Where are the margins of error (aka uncertainty range) for the numeric estimates of risk? Even a simple political poll from Podunk University routinely provides the margin of error.
In reading the provided link, it appears that only an association (correlation) was established, not a cause-and-effect relationship.
Assuming that you can access the full version of the study through ScienceDirect with your Podunk University login credentials, your question is answered in “Appendix A. Supplementary material.”
Four points: 1) my complaint was that simple political polls provide a margin of error, routinely, even though consumption is intended for laymen; 2) the DOI link to the research article provides the confidence interval; my question really was why the press release left it out; 3) you said nothing about establishing cause-and-effect; 4) my Podunk U credentials expired long before Al Gore invented the internet.
NOx (in the article) is Nitric Oxide and Nitrogen Dioxide, common pollutants, not Nitrous Oxide.
Rich people avoid highways and live adjacent to parks and water.
I have early onset and have been able to slowly reverse it by sorting thru thousands of studies and applying the scientific data, which 100% aligns with what is being stated here.