Abstract
This paper assesses the effect of short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution on human cognitive performance via a double cross over experimental design. Two distinct experiments were performed, both of which exposed subjects to low and high concentrations of PM. Firstly, subjects completed a series of cognitive tests after being exposed to low ambient indoor PM concentrations and elevated PM concentrations generated via candle burning, which is a well-known source of PM. Secondly, a different cohort underwent cognitive tests after being exposed to low ambient indoor PM concentrations and elevated ambient outdoor PM concentrations via commuting on or next to roads. Three tests were used to assess cognitive performance: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Stroop Color and Word test, and Ruff 2 & 7 test. The results from the MMSE test showed a statistically robust decline in cognitive function after exposure to both the candle burning and outdoor commuting compared to ambient indoor conditions. The similarity in the results between the two experiments suggests that PM exposure is the cause of the short-term cognitive decline observed in both. The outdoor commuting experiment also showed a statistically significant short-term cognitive decline in automatic detection speed from the Ruff 2 and 7 selective attention test. The other cognitive tests, for both the candle and commuting experiments, showed no statistically significant difference between the high and low PM exposure conditions. The findings from this study are potentially far reaching; they suggest that elevated PM pollution levels significantly affect short term cognition. This implies average human cognitive ability will vary from city to city and country to country as a function of PM air pollution exposure.
Highlights
Recent evidence has shown that particulate matter (PM) air pollution can have adverse effects on the mature nervous system in adults[1,2,3,4]
Effect of candle burning on cognitive performance. 30 subjects were tested in this experiment
This is the first study to directly investigate the effect of PM exposure upon short-term cognitive performance in healthy adults
Summary
Recent evidence has shown that particulate matter (PM) air pollution can have adverse effects on the mature nervous system in adults[1,2,3,4]. The WHO recommend that daily and annual limits of fine PM (PM2.5, which has a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm) do not exceed 25 and 50 μg/m3, respectively, to limit negative effects on human mortality and morbidity. In the UK every year, air pollution causes approximately 40,000 premature deaths, about half of which are associated with the pollutants emitted from motorized transport[13]. People who commute on busy roads have elevated likelihoods of adverse health effects[14], which can lead to enhanced morbidity and mortality[15]. Another source of personal exposure to fine PM is candle burning, which produces soot, and other types of PM16. Gender (male/female) Age % Under 24 years 25–35 years old 36–45 years old Over 56 years Weight mean (SD)/kg Height mean (SD)/cm Highest Level of Education % -Secondary School -High School -UG degree/professional qualification -Diploma/technical qualification -PG degree Occupational position % -Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations -Intermediate occupations -Routine and manual occupations -Student
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