Background: Cognitive impairment is a major health issue particularly with the increasing aging population. There are around 47.5 million dementia cases globally. Traffic air pollution issue is a chief environmental problem principally in the mega cities such as Cairo. Methodology: In a Cross sectional and comparative research study the study subjects recruited involved 200 individuals, categorized into two research groups: 100 from Cairo’s elderly home residents and 100 from EL-Gharbaya’s elderly home residents. Results: Statistical linear regression analysis revealed that fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and nitric oxide have a statistically significant impact on cognitive function (p values < 0.001) (shown in Table 4). Conclusions: Traffic related air pollutants were strongly associated with cognitive impairment within elderly population in geriatric home residents in Egypt. Regarding to statistically significant difference in concentration of traffic related air pollutants between urban and rural areas, urban areas were more polluted than rural areas.
References
[1]
Toxicity. The Lancet Neurology, 13, 330-338.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70278-3
[2]
Gerlofs-Nijland, M.E., van Berlo, D., Cassee, F.R., et al. (2010) Effect of Prolonged Exposure to Diesel Engine Exhaust on Proinflammatory Markers in Different Regions of the Rat Brain. Particle and Fibre Toxicology, 7, 12.
[3]
Power, M.C., Weisskopf, M.G., Alexeeff, S.E., et al. (2011) Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Cognitive Function in a Cohort of Older Men. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119, 682-627.
[4]
Bennett, I.J. and Madden, D.J. (2014) Disconnected Aging: Cerebral White Matter Integrity and Age-Related Differences in Cognition. Neuroscience, 276, 187-205.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.11.026
[5]
Jekel, K., Damian, M., Wattmo, C., et al. (2015) Mild Cognitive Impairment and Deficits in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living: A Systematic Review. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 7, 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-015-0099-0
[6]
Harada, C.N., Love, M.C. and Triebel, K.L. (2013). Normal Cognitive Aging. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 29, 737-752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2013.07.002
[7]
Davis, H.P., Klebe, K.J., Guinther, P.M., et al. (2013) Subjective Organization, Verbal Learning, and Forgetting Across the Life Span: From 5 to 89. Experimental Aging Research, 39, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2013.741956
[8]
Rogalski, E., Stebbins, G.T., Barnes, C.A., et al. (2012) Age-Related Changes in Para hippocampal White Matter Integrity: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study. Neuropsychologia, 50, 1759-1765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.03.033
[9]
Lin, J.S., O’Connor, E., Rossom, R.C., et al. (2013) Screening for Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: A Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Annals of Internal Medicine, 159, 601-612.
https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-159-9-201311050-00730
[10]
Wisdom, N.M., Mignogna, J. and Collins, R.L. (2012) Variability in Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV Subtest Performance across Age. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 27, 389-397. https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acs041
[11]
World Health Organization (2011) Urban Outdoor Air Pollution Database. Geneva.
[12]
Ramadan, I.M. and Rashwan, N.K. (2015) Calibration of Vehicle Emissions-Speed Relationships for the Greater Cairo Roads. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 7, 1.
[13]
Shandilya, K.K. and Khare, M. (2012) Particulate Matter: Sources, Emission Rates and Health Effects. Advances in Environmental Research, 23, 265-322.
[14]
Moawad, M.B., Youssief, A.A. and Madkour, K. (2017) Modeling and Monitoring of Air Quality in Greater Cairo Region, Egypt Using Landsat-8 Images, HYSPLIT and GIS Based Analysis. Climate Change Research at Universities, Springer International Publishing, 37-54, Berlin.
[15]
Robaa, S.M. (2013) Some Aspects of the Urban Climates of Greater Cairo Region, Egypt. International Journal of Climatology, 33, 3206-3216. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3661
[16]
Kim, K.H., Jahan, S.A., Kabir, E. et al. (2013) A Review on Human Health Perspective of Air Pollution with Respect to Allergies and Asthma. Environment International, 59, 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2013.05.007
[17]
Shah, A.S., Langrish, J.P., Nair, H., et al. (2013) Global Association of Air Pollution and Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Lancet, 382, 1039-1048. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60898-3
[18]
Burnett, R.T., Pope III, C.A., Ezzati, M., et al. (2014) An Integrated Risk Function for Estimating the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposure. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122, 397.
[19]
Lelieveld, J., Evans, J.S., Fnaiset, M., et al. (2015) The Contribution of Outdoor Air Pollution Sources to Premature Mortality on a Global Scale. Nature, 525, 367-371.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15371
[20]
Kelly, F.J. and Fussell, J.C. (2012) Size, Source and Chemical Composition as Determinants of Toxicity Attributable to Ambient Particulate Matter. Atmospheric Environment, 60, 504-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.06.039
[21]
Zhang, J.J. and Samet, J.M. (2015) Chinese Haze versus Western Smog: Lessons Learned. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 7, 3-13.
[22]
Cadelis, G., Tourres, R. and Molinie, J. (2014) Short-Term Effects of the Particulate Pollutants Contained in Saharan Dust on the Visits of Children to the Emergency Department Due to Asthmatic Conditions in Guadeloupe (French Archipelago of the Caribbean). PLoS ONE, 9, e91136.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091136
[23]
Esworthy, R. (2013) Air Quality: EPA’s 2013 Changes to the Particulate Matter (PM) Standard. Congressional Research Service, 7-5700.
[24]
Perez, L., Tobías, A., et al. (2012) Saharan Dust, Particulate Matter and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Case-Crossover Study in Barcelona (Spain). Environment International, 48, 150-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2012.07.001
[25]
Calderón-Garciduenas, L., Leray, H.P., et al. (2016) Air Pollution, a Rising Environmental Risk Factor for Cognition, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration: The Clinical Impact on Children and Beyond. Revue Neurologique, 172, 69-80.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurol.2015.10.008
[26]
Wohleb, E.S., McKim, Sheridan, J.F., et al. (2015) Monocyte Trafficking to the Brain with Stress and Inflammation: A Novel Axis of Immune-to-Brain Communication That Influences Mood and Behavior. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8, 447.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2014.00447
[27]
Rodrigues, R., Petersen, R.B. and Perry, G. (2014) Parallels between Major Depressive Disorder and Alzheimer’s Disease: Role of Oxidative Stress and Genetic Vulnerability. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 34, 925-949.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-014-0074-5
[28]
Heusinkveld, H.J., Wahle, T., Campbell, A., et al. (2016) Neurodegenerative and Neurological Disorders by Small Inhaled Particles. Neurotoxicology, 56, 94-106.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2016.07.007
[29]
Steenhof, M., Janssen, N.A., Strak, M., et al. (2014) Air Pollution Exposure Affects Circulating White Blood Cell Counts in Healthy Subjects: The Role of Particle Composition, Oxidative Potential and Gaseous Pollutants—The RAPTES Project. Inhalation Toxicology, 26, 141-165. https://doi.org/10.3109/08958378.2013.861884
[30]
Chiu, I.M., Von Hehn, C.A. and Woolf, C.J. (2012) Neurogenic Inflammation and the Peripheral Nervous System in Host Defense and Immunopathology. Nature Neuroscience, 15, 1063. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3144
[31]
Mumaw, C.L., Levesque, S., McGraw, C., et al. (2016) Microglial Priming through the Lung-Brain Axis: The Role of Air Pollution-Induced Circulating Factors. The FASEB Journal, 30, 1880-1891. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201500047
[32]
Ji, Y., Shi, Z., Zhang, Y., et al. (2015) Prevalence of Dementia and Main Subtypes in Rural Northern China. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 39, 294-302.
https://doi.org/10.1159/000375366
[33]
Ren, L., Bai, L., Wu, Y., et al. (2018) Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment among Elderly without Cardio- and Cerebrovascular Diseases: A Population-Based Study in Rural China. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 10, 62.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00062
[34]
Clifford, A., Lang, L., Chen, R., et al. (2016) Exposure to Air Pollution and Cognitive Functioning across the Life Course—A Systematic Literature Review. Environmental Research, 147, 383-398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.01.018
