Effect of air pollutants particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) on cognitive health
Sultan Ayoub Meo, Narmeen Shaikh, Metib Alotaibi, Abdullah Abdulziz AlWabel, Hamid Alqumaidi
Abstract
Impaired cognitive health is the leading cause of various disabilities and disorders. Air pollution has been dramatically increasing over the last few decades and has been identified as a potential risk factor for impaired cognitive health. This study investigates the effect of air pollutants, particulate matter (PM 2.5 , PM 10 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and ground-level ozone, on global cognitive health. The data on environmental pollutants and cognitive health were recorded from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Initially, 790 articles were identified after screening for duplicates and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 studies were included, and data was synthesized to get a pooled result. The overall results revealed that increased exposure to PM 2.5 was positively and significantly associated with cognitive decline (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.11, 1.99; p = 0.01). The risk of cognitive impairment due to PM 10 (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.00–1.70, p = 0.05), and SO 2 (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.27–1.51; p < 0.01) exposure were also significantly heightened. The study findings show that overall exposure to particulate matter PM 2.5, PM 10, and SO 2 was associated with an increased risk of a decrease in global cognitive functions. The findings suggest that reducing levels of air pollutants could be a strategic approach to mitigate cognitive health risks in populations worldwide.