Outdoor Air Pollution, Environmental Injustice, and Cognitive Decline: a Review

Purpose of ReviewIncidence of dementia is higher in Black and Hispanic populations and those with less education. Air pollution has been proposed as a plausible risk factor. We discuss reports on ambient pollution and cognitive decline and the importance of investigations in marginalized populations, and recommend areas for future research.Recent FindingsMost studies were conducted in the USA and focused on residential exposures over & GE; 1 year. Although most dementia studies used medical records to ascertain outcomes, many studies of cognitive impairment were based on self- or proxy-reported symptoms. Several studies showed differences in associations by income and education, but results by race/ethnicity were conflicting.Trends suggests that research on air pollution and cognitive decline is increasingly considering disparities in exposures and assessment. Future research should incorporate measures of cognitive function instead of diagnostic records to address disparities in timing of assessments and examine longitudinal associations between air pollution and cognitive decline.