Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30775976›Full record

SynthesisJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2019

Air Pollution and Dementia: A Systematic Review.

Ruth Peters, Nicole Ee, Jean Peters, Andrew Booth, Ian Mudway, Kaarin J Anstey

Open access · bronzeAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 243 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
243citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
28.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

243 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 521 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Umbrella review and Delphi study on modifiable factors for dementia risk reduction.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024
    Pooled it
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  13. Article
  14. Environmental Pollution, Biomarkers, and Dementia: An Evidence Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Wearable Personal PMmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Revisiting 'environmental effects': Directions for multidisciplinary investigations of air quality and psychopathology.Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2026
    Article

183 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Ruth PetersUniversity of New South Wales, Australia.
Nicole EeNeuroscience Research Australia, Australia.
Jean PetersSchool for Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, UK.
Andrew BoothSchool for Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, UK.
Ian MudwayMRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards, Facility of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
Kaarin J AnsteyUniversity of New South Wales, Australia.
Neuroscience Research Australia · AUUniversity of Sheffield · GBKing's College London · GBUNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

Medical Research Council G1000758Medical Research Council MR/S019669/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBoth air pollution and dementia are current and growing global issues. There are plausible links between exposure to specific air pollutants and dementia.

objectiveTo systematically review the evidence base with respect to the relationship between air pollution and later cognitive decline and dementia.

methodsMedline, Embase, and PsychINFO® were searched from their inception to September 2018, for publications reporting on longitudinal studies of exposure to air pollution and incident dementia or cognitive decline in adults. Studies reporting on exposure to tobacco smoke including passive smoking or on occupational exposure to pollutants were excluded. Using standard Cochrane methodology, two readers identified relevant abstracts, read full text publications, and extracted data into structured tables from relevant papers, as defined by inclusion and exclusion criteria. Papers were also assessed for validity. CRD42018094299Results:From 3,720 records, 13 papers were found to be relevant, with studies from the USA, Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, and the UK. Study follow-up ranged from one to 15 years. Pollutants examined included particulate matter ≤2.5 μ (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone. Studies varied in their methodology, population selection, assessment of exposure to pollution, and method of cognitive testing. Greater exposure to PM2.5, NO2/NOx, and CO were all associated with increased risk of dementia. The evidence for air pollutant exposure and cognitive decline was more equivocal.

conclusionEvidence is emerging that greater exposure to airborne pollutants is associated with increased risk of dementia.

Indexed as

Air PollutantsAir PollutionCognitive DysfunctionDementiaEnvironmental ExposureHumansParticulate MatterAir PollutantsParticulate MatterAir pollutantscognitive declinedementiaparticulate matter

Identifiers

PMID30775976
PMCPMC6700631
OpenAlexW2914620404

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.