City Know-hows

Reducing air pollution in Latin America could help reduce dementia

Invitation to fewer and fewer countries in gray every day. Credit: Ana María Baldovino

Air pollution is linked to a high risk of dementia. However, it is concerning that only two Latin American countries are studying this association.

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Target audience

Governors and citizens of the countries that make up Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the neuroscience community.

The problem

Studies have been conducted in European and North American countries that indicate that there is a positive relationship between exposure to air pollutants and an increase in cases of dementia, but it is not clear whether this association also exists in Latin American and Caribbean countries, where the sociodemographic characteristics are different.

What we did and why

We conducted a search of all studies that have been conducted worldwide where there was an association between air pollution and dementia. Of these, we selected only those that were conducted in countries or cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. We wanted to establish whether the association has been described in this area of the world, how often it has been done and what policies have been generated from it to intervene.

Our study’s contribution

We found that the evidence that air pollution is a risk factor for dementia was reinforced; however,

  • The scarcity of information on the subject in Latin America and the Caribbean, despite being countries with high rates of pollution, is evident.
  • Only Mexico and Brazil have conducted studies to look at the association between air pollution and dementia.
  • There are no public policies to manage this risk factor at the level of Latin American and Caribbean cities.

Impacts for city policy and practice

There is a need to have clear levels of air pollution in all Latin American cities. All relevant authorities, stakeholders, and actors must seek mitigation strategies to reduce the deterioration of cognition of its inhabitants indirectly through air pollution. If this risk factor for dementia is diminished, it can reduce costs to the health system in the future.

For more information on the global air pollution and dementia situation, see The Barcelona Institute for Global Health – Air Pollution and Dementia blog.

Further information

Full research article:

Air pollution and cognitive impairment among middle-aged and older adults in Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review by Ana María Baldovino Chiquillo, Kelly Yohana Moreno Bocanegra & Daniel Hedmont Rojas.

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