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Ambient air pollution and neurotoxicity on brain structure: Evidence from women's health initiative memory study
Chen JC, Wang X, Wellenius GA, Serre ML, Driscoll I, Casanova R, McArdle JJ, Manson JE et al.. Annals of neurology, 2015-07-28
Topic: Air pollution and environmental exposures
Objective The aim of this study was to examine the putative adverse effects of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5 : PM with aerodynamic diameters <2.5μm) on brain volumes in older women. Methods We conducted a prospective study of 1,403 community-dwelling older women without dementia enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, 1996-1998. Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed at the age of 71-89 years in 2005-2006 to obtain volumetric measures of gray matter (GM) and normal-appearing white matter (WM). Given residential histories and air monitoring data, we used a spatiotemporal model to estimate cumulative PM2.5 exposure in 1999-2006. Multiple linear regression was employed to evaluate the associations between PM2.5 and brain volumes, adjusting for intracranial volumes and potential confounders. Results Older women with greater PM2.5 exposures had significantly smaller WM, but not GM, volumes, independent of geographical region, demographics, socioeconomic status, lifestyles, and clinical characteristics, including cardiovascular risk factors. For each interquartile increment (3.49μg/m(3) ) of cumulative PM2.5 exposure, the average WM volume (WMV; 95% confidence interval) was 6.23cm(3) (3.72-8.74) smaller in the total brain and 4.47cm(3) (2.27-6.67) lower in the association areas, equivalent to 1 to 2 years of brain aging. The adverse PM2.5 effects on smaller WMVs were present in frontal and temporal lobes and corpus callosum (all p values <0.01). Hippocampal volumes did not differ by PM2.5 exposure. Interpretation PM2.5 exposure may contribute to WM loss in older women. Future studies are needed to determine whether exposures result in myelination disturbance, disruption of axonal integrity, damages to oligodendrocytes, or other WM neuropathologies.
Key findings
- Results Older women with greater PM2.5 exposures had significantly smaller WM, but not GM, volumes, independent of geographical region, demographics, socioeconomic status, lifestyles, and clinical characteristics, including cardiovascular risk factors.
- Future studies are needed to determine whether exposures result in myelination disturbance, disruption of axonal integrity, damages to oligodendrocytes, or other WM neuropathologies.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 38 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 66 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Annals of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| 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 | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26075655) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 38 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 38 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 66 out of 100. |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Chen, J. C., Wang, X., Wellenius, G. A., Serre, M. L., Driscoll, I., Casanova, R., et al. (2015). Ambient air pollution and neurotoxicity on brain structure: Evidence from women's health initiative memory study. Annals of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24460
Vancouver
Chen JC, Wang X, Wellenius GA, Serre ML, Driscoll I, Casanova R, et al. Ambient air pollution and neurotoxicity on brain structure: Evidence from women's health initiative memory study. Annals of neurology. 2015. doi:10.1002/ana.24460. PMID: 26075655.
BibTeX
@article{chen2015-26075655,
author = {Chen, J. C. and Wang, X. and Wellenius, G. A. and Serre, M. L. and Driscoll, I. and Casanova, R. and McArdle, J. J. and Manson, J. E. and others},
title = {{Ambient air pollution and neurotoxicity on brain structure: Evidence from women's health initiative memory study}},
journal = {Annals of neurology},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1002/ana.24460},
pmid = {26075655},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24460}
}
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