Air pollution, oxidative stress, and Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting millions of people worldwide and will continue to affect millions more with population aging on the rise. AD causality is multifactorial. Known causal factors include genetic predisposition, age, and sex. Environmental toxins such as air pollution (AP) have also been implicated in AD causation. Exposure to AP can lead to chronic oxidative stress (OS), which is involved in the pathogenesis of AD. Whereas AP plays a role in AD pathology, the epidemiological evidence for this association is limited. Given the significant prevalence of AP exposure combined with increased population aging, epidemiological evidence for this link is important to consider. In this paper, we examine the existing evidence supporting the relationship between AP, OS, and AD and provide recommendations for future research on the population level, which will provide evidence in support of public health interventions.

Figure 1

Interacting factors in the causality of Alzheimer's disease [, –11, 17, 19, 28, 35, 72, 73]. Alzheimer's disease is the result of the interaction of aging, genetic predisposition, and environmental exposures such as air pollution in the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease. Air pollution is a prevalent environmental source of ROS that impacts the brain through the multiple pathways accelerating the development and clinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease. BBB: blood-brain barrier; ROS: reactive oxygen species; CVD: cardiovascular disease.