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A critical review of the epidemiological evidence of effects of air pollution on dementia, cognitive function and cognitive decline in adult population
Delgado-Saborit JM, Guercio V, Gowers AM, Shaddick G, Fox NC, Love S.. The Science of the total environment, 2020-11-25
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Cognitive decline and dementia incidence have also been consistently associated with exposure to air pollution.
Key findings
- Cognitive decline and dementia incidence have also been consistently associated with exposure to air pollution.
Why it matters
This review reports that cognitive decline and dementia incidence have been consistently associated with exposure to air pollution. It does not describe any treatment or prevention effect.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 67/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Science of the total environment) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Science of The Total Environment: journal h-index 494 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 248 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 35.4 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 142 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Seth Love: h-index 90 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33340865) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 67 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143734
- PubMed: 33340865
- Original source →
- Free full text: The Science of The Total Environment →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Delgado-Saborit, J. M., Guercio, V., Gowers, A. M., Shaddick, G., Fox, N. C., & Love, S. (2021). A critical review of the epidemiological evidence of effects of air pollution on dementia, cognitive function and cognitive decline in adult population. The Science of the total environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143734
Vancouver
Delgado-Saborit JM, Guercio V, Gowers AM, Shaddick G, Fox NC, Love S. A critical review of the epidemiological evidence of effects of air pollution on dementia, cognitive function and cognitive decline in adult population. The Science of the total environment. 2021. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143734. PMID: 33340865.
BibTeX
@article{delgadosaborit2021-33340865,
author = {Delgado-Saborit, J. M. and Guercio, V. and Gowers, A. M. and Shaddick, G. and Fox, N. C. and Love, S.},
title = {{A critical review of the epidemiological evidence of effects of air pollution on dementia, cognitive function and cognitive decline in adult population}},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143734},
pmid = {33340865},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143734}
}
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