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Air pollution and your brain: what do you need to know right now
Calderón-Garcidueñas L, Calderón-Garcidueñas A, Torres-Jardón R, Avila-Ramírez J, Kulesza RJ, Angiulli AD.. Primary health care research & development, 2014-09-26
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Research links air pollution mostly to respiratory and cardiovascular disease. The effects of air pollution on the central nervous system (CNS) are not broadly recognized. Urban outdoor pollution is a global public health problem particularly severe in megacities and in underdeveloped countries, but large and small cities in the United States and the United Kingom are not spared.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Calderón-Garcidueñas, L., Calderón-Garcidueñas, A., Torres-Jardón, R., Avila-Ramírez, J., Kulesza, R. J., & Angiulli, A. D. (2015). Air pollution and your brain: what do you need to know right now. Primary health care research & development. https://doi.org/10.1017/s146342361400036x
Vancouver
Calderón-Garcidueñas L, Calderón-Garcidueñas A, Torres-Jardón R, Avila-Ramírez J, Kulesza RJ, Angiulli AD. Air pollution and your brain: what do you need to know right now. Primary health care research & development. 2015. doi:10.1017/s146342361400036x. PMID: 25256239.
BibTeX
@article{calderongarciduenas2015-25256239,
author = {Calderón-Garcidueñas, L. and Calderón-Garcidueñas, A. and Torres-Jardón, R. and Avila-Ramírez, J. and Kulesza, R. J. and Angiulli, A. D.},
title = {{Air pollution and your brain: what do you need to know right now}},
journal = {Primary health care research \& development},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1017/s146342361400036x},
pmid = {25256239},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s146342361400036x}
}
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.
Key findings
- The effects of air pollution on the central nervous system (CNS) are not broadly recognized.
- Urban outdoor pollution is a global public health problem particularly severe in megacities and in underdeveloped countries, but large and small cities in the United States and the United Kingom are not spared.
- Fine and ultrafine particulate matter (UFPM) defined by aerodynamic diameter (<2.5-μm fine particles, PM2.5, and <100-nm UFPM) pose a special interest for the brain effects given the capability of very small particles to reach the brain.
- In adults, ambient pollution is associated to stroke and depression, whereas the emerging picture in children show significant systemic inflammation, immunodysregulation at systemic, intratechal and brain levels, neuroinflammation and brain oxidative stress, along with the main hallmarks of Alzheimer and Parkinson's diseases: hyperphosphorilated tau, amyloid plaques and misfolded α-synuclein.
Why it matters
This article states that the effects of air pollution on the central nervous system are not broadly recognized and that fine and ultrafine particulate matter are of special interest for brain effects. It discusses air pollution as a public health problem but does not report a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 39/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 37 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 39 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Primary health care research & development) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Primary Health Care Research & Development: journal h-index 54 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 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 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 228 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.5 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 63 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Amedeo D apos Angiulli holds only 5 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: institution h-index 668 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25256239) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 37 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 37 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 39 out of 100. |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1017/s146342361400036x
- PubMed: 25256239
- Original source →
- Free full text: Primary Health Care Research & Development →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
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