Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function
Little is known about the effect of air pollution on Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-specific brain structural pathologies. There is also a lack of evidence on whether this effect leads to poorer cognitive function. We investigated whether, and the extent to which, AD-like cortical atrophy mediated the ass...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022006304 |
| _version_ | 1797948283860025344 |
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| author | Jaelim Cho Heeseon Jang Hyunji Park Young Noh Jungwoo Sohn Sang-Baek Koh Seung-Koo Lee Sun-Young Kim Changsoo Kim |
| author_facet | Jaelim Cho Heeseon Jang Hyunji Park Young Noh Jungwoo Sohn Sang-Baek Koh Seung-Koo Lee Sun-Young Kim Changsoo Kim |
| author_sort | Jaelim Cho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Little is known about the effect of air pollution on Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-specific brain structural pathologies. There is also a lack of evidence on whether this effect leads to poorer cognitive function. We investigated whether, and the extent to which, AD-like cortical atrophy mediated the association between air pollution exposures and cognitive function in dementia-free adults. We used cross-sectional data from 640 participants who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Mean cortical thickness (as the measure of global cortical atrophy) and machine learning-based AD-like cortical atrophy score were estimated from brain images. Concentrations of particulate matter with diameters ≤ 10 μm (PM10) and ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were estimated based on each participant’s residential address. Following the product method, a mediation effect was tested by conducting a series of three regression analyses (exposure to outcome; exposure to mediator; and exposure and mediator to outcome). A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 (β = -1.13; 95 % CI, −1.73 to −0.53) and a 10 ppb increase in NO2 (β = -1.09; 95 % CI, −1.40 to −0.78) were significantly associated with a lower MoCA score. PM10 (β = 0.27; 95 % CI, 0.06 to 0.48) and NO2 (β = 0.35; 95 % CI, 0.25 to 0.45) were significantly associated with an increased AD-like cortical atrophy score. Effects of PM10 and NO2 on MoCA scores were significantly mediated by mean cortical thickness (proportions mediated: 25 %–28 %) and AD-like cortical atrophy scores (13 %–16 %). The findings suggest that air pollution exposures may induce AD-like cortical atrophy, and that this effect may lead to poorer cognitive function in dementia-free adults. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:42:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3131d059fa647cab7a777fbdb0e7d90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:42:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3131d059fa647cab7a777fbdb0e7d902023-01-19T04:16:21ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202023-01-01171107703Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive functionJaelim Cho0Heeseon Jang1Hyunji Park2Young Noh3Jungwoo Sohn4Sang-Baek Koh5Seung-Koo Lee6Sun-Young Kim7Changsoo Kim8Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Public Health, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Neurology, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Radiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Cancer Control and Population Health, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Institute of Human Complexity and Systems Science, Yonsei University, Incheon, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author at: Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.Little is known about the effect of air pollution on Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-specific brain structural pathologies. There is also a lack of evidence on whether this effect leads to poorer cognitive function. We investigated whether, and the extent to which, AD-like cortical atrophy mediated the association between air pollution exposures and cognitive function in dementia-free adults. We used cross-sectional data from 640 participants who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Mean cortical thickness (as the measure of global cortical atrophy) and machine learning-based AD-like cortical atrophy score were estimated from brain images. Concentrations of particulate matter with diameters ≤ 10 μm (PM10) and ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were estimated based on each participant’s residential address. Following the product method, a mediation effect was tested by conducting a series of three regression analyses (exposure to outcome; exposure to mediator; and exposure and mediator to outcome). A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 (β = -1.13; 95 % CI, −1.73 to −0.53) and a 10 ppb increase in NO2 (β = -1.09; 95 % CI, −1.40 to −0.78) were significantly associated with a lower MoCA score. PM10 (β = 0.27; 95 % CI, 0.06 to 0.48) and NO2 (β = 0.35; 95 % CI, 0.25 to 0.45) were significantly associated with an increased AD-like cortical atrophy score. Effects of PM10 and NO2 on MoCA scores were significantly mediated by mean cortical thickness (proportions mediated: 25 %–28 %) and AD-like cortical atrophy scores (13 %–16 %). The findings suggest that air pollution exposures may induce AD-like cortical atrophy, and that this effect may lead to poorer cognitive function in dementia-free adults.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022006304EpidemiologyAir pollutionAlzheimer’s diseaseCortical atrophyCognitive functionMediation analysis |
| spellingShingle | Jaelim Cho Heeseon Jang Hyunji Park Young Noh Jungwoo Sohn Sang-Baek Koh Seung-Koo Lee Sun-Young Kim Changsoo Kim Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function Environment International Epidemiology Air pollution Alzheimer’s disease Cortical atrophy Cognitive function Mediation analysis |
| title | Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function |
| title_full | Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function |
| title_fullStr | Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function |
| title_short | Alzheimer’s disease-like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function |
| title_sort | alzheimer s disease like cortical atrophy mediates the effect of air pollution on global cognitive function |
| topic | Epidemiology Air pollution Alzheimer’s disease Cortical atrophy Cognitive function Mediation analysis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022006304 |
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