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Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter and Structural Brain Changes in Older Adults
Giulia Grande, Bolin Wu, Jing Wu, Grégoria Kalpouzos, Erika J Laukka, Tom Bellander, Debora Rizzuto. Stroke, 2025-05-12
Topic: Air pollution and environmental exposures
At study entry, the mean (SD) age of the participants was 70 (SD, 8.9) years and 41% were males. Individuals who before baseline had been exposed to levels of PM2.5 or PM10 above the median (8.5 and 14.9 μg/m3, respectively) had smaller total brain tissue volume (β, -0.20 [95% CI, -0.33 to -0.06] and β, -0.14 [95% CI, -0.28 to -0.01], respectively) at baseline than those with lower PM2.5 and PM10 levels. Participants exposed during the follow-up to PM2.5>8.7 μg/m3 had on average an annual shrinkage of total brain tissue volume of 0.22 (95% CI, -0.43 to -0.01) and an annual increase of 0.25 (95% CI, 0.07-0.43) of the white matter hyperintensities as compared with participants exposed to PM2.5<8.7 μg/m3. No association was detected between PM10 and an annual rate of change in brain MRI volumes. Long-term exposure to comparatively low levels of PM2.5 was associated with a greater load of structural brain changes, encompassing brain atrophy and vascular pathology. These findings, in a dementia- and cerebrovascular disease-free sample, underscore the importance of addressing air pollution as a modifiable risk factor for late-life cognitive decline, and highlight the need for targeted interventions to prevent its detrimental effects on brain integrity.
Key findings
- At study entry, the mean (SD) age of the participants was 70 (SD, 8.9) years and 41% were males.
- Individuals who before baseline had been exposed to levels of PM2.5 or PM10 above the median (8.5 and 14.9 μg/m3, respectively) had smaller total brain tissue volume (β, -0.20 [95% CI, -0.33 to -0.06] and β, -0.14 [95% CI, -0.28 to -0.01], respectively) at baseline than those with lower PM2.5 and PM10 levels.
- Participants exposed during the follow-up to PM2.5>8.7 μg/m3 had on average an annual shrinkage of total brain tissue volume of 0.22 (95% CI, -0.43 to -0.01) and an annual increase of 0.25 (95% CI, 0.07-0.43) of the white matter hyperintensities as compared with participants exposed to PM2.5<8.7 μg/m3.
- No association was detected between PM10 and an annual rate of change in brain MRI volumes.
- Long-term exposure to comparatively low levels of PM2.5 was associated with a greater load of structural brain changes, encompassing brain atrophy and vascular pathology.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants555
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 68/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded 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, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 38 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 68 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Stroke) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 555 participants |
| 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 (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 40353588) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 38 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 38 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 68 out of 100. |
| Total | 68 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Grande, G., Wu, B., Wu, J., Kalpouzos, G., Laukka, E. J., Bellander, T., et al. (2025). Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter and Structural Brain Changes in Older Adults. Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.124.048096
Vancouver
Grande G, Wu B, Wu J, Kalpouzos G, Laukka EJ, Bellander T, et al. Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter and Structural Brain Changes in Older Adults. Stroke. 2025. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.124.048096. PMID: 40353588.
BibTeX
@article{grande2025-40353588,
author = {Grande, Giulia and Wu, Bolin and Wu, Jing and Kalpouzos, Grégoria and Laukka, Erika J and Bellander, Tom and Rizzuto, Debora},
title = {{Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter and Structural Brain Changes in Older Adults}},
journal = {Stroke},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1161/strokeaha.124.048096},
pmid = {40353588},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.124.048096}
}
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