Jul 2026· International Journal of Population Data Science· Vol 11· 0 citations
Medicine
TL;DR
There was a clear unadjusted and adjusted association between long-term exposure to ambient pollution and the risk of developing dementia, with those experiencing higher exposures being at greater risk.
Abstract
This study used Census data from Northern Ireland linked to administrative data on prescriptions between 2010 and 2016, to examine the association between ambient air pollution exposure and the risk of dementia onset. It contributes to this literature by providing new evidence in a comparatively low pollution context, using rich and nationally representative cohort data with comprehensive information on dementia disease medications dispensed over an extended period. We estimated Cox Proportional Hazards models for the association between pollution exposure and dementia onset as proxied by first receipt of dementia medication, controlling extensively for potentially confounding factors. Estimates are presented in the form of hazard ratios for the effect of long-term PM2.5 and NO2 exposure (define as 5-year moving average exposure in the primary model) on the risk of dementia onset. There was a clear unadjusted and adjusted association between long-term exposure to ambient pollution and the risk of developing dementia, with those experiencing higher exposures being at greater risk. There was evidence of a positive association with both PM2.5 and NO2 exposure for subsamples by age and sex with more tentative associations for those under 70 years of age. This study contributes to an emerging literature examining the association between ambient PM2.5 and NO2 pollution and onset of dementia. We found strong evidence for positive associations even in the relatively low-pollution context of Northern Ireland.
Long-term exposure to air pollutants, particularly NO2 and PM10, is associated with an increased risk of microvascular complications among individuals with diabetes, and the observed risk appears to be persistent and may begin at relatively low exposure levels, underscoring the need for preventive strategies targeting environmental risk factors.
BACKGROUND
Air pollution is an established risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, but evidence on chronic kidney diseases (CKD) remains limited.
OBJECTIVE
We aim to examine the association between long-term exposure to air pollutants and CKD incidence.
METHODS
We followed 24,581 female nurses from the Danish Nurse Cohort, recruited in 1993 or 1999, for their first-ever hospital contact with a primary or secondary CKD diagnosis until 2018. We estimated annual mean levels of particulate matter with a diameter < 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and 10 µm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and black carbon (BC) at nurses' residential addresses using the DEHM/UBM/AirGIS modeling system. We used Cox regression models to examine the association of 14-year running means of air pollutants with CKD incidence and to explore the effect modification of this association by lifestyles.
RESULTS
Over 521,211 person-years of follow-up, 429 nurses developed CKD. We found positive associations of modest magnitude between long-term exposure to air pollutants and CKD, with hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) per interquartile range: 1.18 (0.93-1.50) per 2.86 µg/m3 for PM2.5, 1.14 (0.93-1.40) per 3.33 µg/m3 for PM10, 1.13 (0.99-1.28) per 8.09 µg/m3 for NO2, and 1.09 (1.00-1.20) per 0.34 µg/m3 for BC. The associations between long-term exposure to NO2 and CKD incidence were greater in never smokers than in ever-smokers. Associations with NO2 and BC remained unchanged in two-pollutant models, whereas those with PM10 and PM2.5 attenuated.
SIGNIFICANCE
Our study adds important new findings to the growing evidence suggesting that air pollution may be associated with CKD incidence.
IMPACT STATEMENT
This study provides longitudinal evidence that long-term exposure to ambient air pollution contributes to chronic kidney disease (CKD) incidence, even in a relatively healthy occupational cohort and at comparatively low pollution levels. Although effect sizes were modest, consistent positive associations, particularly for NO2 and black carbon, highlight traffic-related pollution as a potential renal risk factor. Stronger associations among never-smokers suggest that environmental exposures may independently influence kidney health. These findings reinforce the need to integrate air pollution into CKD risk assessment and prevention strategies. Strengthening air quality policies and reducing long-term residential exposure could help lower CKD burden and protect kidney health at the population level.
Gonzalo Hevia-Ramos, Jiawei Zhang, Stephane Tuffier et al.· Journal of Exposure Science...· 0 citations
This Finnish population-nested case-control (FINPARK) study investigates the association between long-term exposure to six gaseous air pollutants and PD risk. Incident PD cases (
n
= 22,189) between 1996 and 2015 were identified from the Finnish medical reimbursement register maintained by the Finnish Social Security Institution. Age-, sex- and region-matched cases (
n
= 148,009) were identified from the Finnish population register. Time-weighted average air pollution exposure was modelled at the residential address for 16 years preceding the PD diagnosis. We observed a marginally increased risk for PD after higher levels of exposure to O
3
(OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.06 per IQR) for exposure 6–16 years before the index date. Inverse associations were observed for NO
X
, NO
2
, CO and SO
2
, potentially due to the strong negative correlation with O
3
. No association with NH
3
was observed. This may suggest a possible role of ozone in PD development even at low exposure levels, which requires further studies.
I. Rumrich, A. Korhonen, L. Frohn et al.· npj Parkinson's Disease· 0 citations
Emerging evidence links air pollution exposure to metabolic dysfunction; however, few studies have examined diabetes-related mortality in relation to ambient air pollutants using high-resolution exposure data at the population level. In the United States, particularly in large and geographically diverse states such as California, exposure contrasts and population heterogeneity provide an important setting to evaluate these associations.
We conducted a matched case–control analysis using California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Vital Records (2010–2021). Diabetes-related mortality events (ICD-10 E11) were identified as primary or contributory causes. Decedents (cases) were geocoded to residential addresses, and one-year rolling averages of fine particulate matter (PM
2.5
) before death were assigned as individual exposures. Each death record was matched to its selected controls based on month and year of birth and race-ethnicity. Controls were identified from the same statewide CDPH mortality database and were eligible because they had not died by the corresponding case’s date of death. Because the number of eligible controls varied across matched strata, controls were randomly sampled within each matched stratum to achieve an overall control-to-case ratio of approximately 2:1 for the study population. The final dataset included 60,824 diabetes-related deaths and 119,053 controls. Exposures were standardized by their interquartile range (IQR) and conditional logistic regression models estimated associations between 1 year rolling average fine particulate matter (PM
2.5
) exposure and odds of diabetes-related mortality, adjusting for age, sex, race-ethnicity, marital status, and education. Nitrogen dioxide (NO
2
) was included as a co-pollutant for confounding control.
PM
2.5
exposure (per 2.65 μg/m
3
IQR increase) was associated with a 18% higher odds of diabetes-related mortality (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.15–1.22) before traffic indicator NO
2
adjustment and showed a stronger association with 21% higher odds (OR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.17–1.25) after NO
2
adjustment. Health economics analysis estimated that reducing PM
2.5
exposure by its IQR could avoid losses of $31.2 million per 100,000 people.
Higher ambient PM
2.5
exposure was associated with increased odds of diabetes-related mortality in California even after adjustment for NO
2
and other impact factors. These findings support the need for continued strengthening of ambient air quality regulations.
Richy Zheng, Jason G. Su, E. Shahriary et al.· Frontiers in Public Health· 0 citations
Air pollution at least 4 years before hospitalization may increase the odds of hospitalization with Parkinson’s Disease, and reducing air pollution exposure may have long-term effects on PD prevention.
Scott W. Delaney, Lauren Mock, Veronica A. Wang et al.· Environmental Epidemiology· 0 citations
Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Exposure to ambient air pollutants and the risk of stroke have been reported in many studies, but the results vary greatly among different regions. This study aims to investigate the association between short-term exposure to air pollution and the admission of total stroke and its subtypes in the Luohu District, Shenzhen. A time-stratified case-crossover study was conducted among 21,973 newly diagnosed stroke cases in Luohu, Shenzhen from 2014 to 2022. Residential exposure to air pollution was assessed using validated grid datasets. A distributed lag model (DLM) and conditional logistic regression model were implemented to evaluate the relationship between ambient air pollution and the admission of stroke and its subtypes. We found that a 10 µg/m3 increase in exposure to NO2 and SO2 was positively associated with a 2.73% increase (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.21%, 3.25%) and a 24.89% increase (20.87%, 29.06%) in the odds of total stroke admission, respectively. Statistical significance has also been found in subtypes. Stronger associations were observed in females (SO2), the elderly (NO2 and SO2), and the cold season (NO2 and SO2). Our findings indicate that exposure to NO2 and SO2 exacerbates the risk of stroke admission, especially in the elderly, females, and the cold season.