Long-Term Air Pollution and Traffic Noise Exposures and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study
Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) describes the intermediate state between normal cognitive aging and dementia. Adverse effects of air pollution (AP) on cognitive functions have been proposed, but investigations of simultaneous exposure to noise are scarce.
Objectives: We analyzed the cross-sectional associations of long-term exposure to AP and traffic noise with overall MCI and amnestic (aMCI) and nonamnestic (naMCI) MCI.
Methods: At the second examination of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study, cognitive assessment was completed in 4,086 participants who were 50–80 years old. Of these, 592 participants were diagnosed as having MCI (aMCI, n = 309; naMCI, n = 283) according to previously published criteria using five neuropsychological subtests. We assessed long-term residential concentrations for size-fractioned particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides with land use regression, and for traffic noise [weighted 24-hr (LDEN) and night-time (LNIGHT) means]. Logistic regression models adjusted for individual risk factors were calculated to estimate the association of environmental exposures with MCI in single- and two-exposure models.
Results: Most air pollutants and traffic noise were associated with overall MCI and aMCI. For example, an interquartile range increase in PM2.5 and a 10 A-weighted decibel [dB(A)] increase in LDEN were associated with overall MCI as follows [odds ratio (95% confidence interval)]: 1.16 (1.05, 1.27) and 1.40 (1.03, 1.91), respectively, and with aMCI as follows: 1.22 (1.08, 1.38) and 1.53 (1.05, 2.24), respectively. In two-exposure models, AP and noise associations were attenuated [e.g., for aMCI, PM2.5 1.13 (0.98, 1.30) and LDEN 1.46 (1.11, 1.92)].
Conclusions: Long-term exposures to air pollution and traffic noise were positively associated with MCI, mainly with the amnestic subtype.
1Environmental Epidemiology Group, IUF (Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung)-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany; 2Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; 3Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; 4Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland; 5University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 6Clinic of Cardiology, West German Heart Center, University Hospital of Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; 7Deanery of Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Recommended Citation:
Lilian Tzivian,1 Martha Dlugaj,2 Angela Winkler,et al. Long-Term Air Pollution and Traffic Noise Exposures and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2016-01-01,Volume 124(Issue 9):1361