Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk • Hacker News Board

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#31

Post by lazide » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #22

graemep wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. It also reduces the world's dependence on unstable regions. However, some things that are regarded as renewable (e.g. wood burning, such as the notorious Drax power station in the UK) are more polluting than fossil fuels. Personally I doubt they are even effective at CO₂ reduction. What we need is clean energy.

> It also reduces the world's dependence on unstable regions. Do you think the world might have made these regions unstable because they have the oil?

The middle east was literally roving bands of desert Bedouins and warring religious states long before fossil oil was known to be useful, let alone of major geopolitical importance.

Have people meddled since? Of course. Such is how power works. But you'd have to go back to Roman times to find a period of stability in the middle east, and the factors that led to that have nothing to do with Oil.

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#32

Post by elric » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:48 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #15

Does this imply that in 30 years or more we should expect spikes in China, India and other places with exceptional air pollution? I don't doubt it and they could expect other implications if the pollution also included heavy metals and other chemicals in the air, water and land.

Hopefully China will improve its care of dementia patients. N=1, but a Chinese friend's mother has dementia, and basically the family is expected to care of her full time, there seem to be no facilities (at least not for regular non-rich folks), and even getting a diagnosis was apparently a very hush-hush affair. Seems like it's something that isn't talked much about over there? Again, N=1.

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#33

Post by firesteelrain » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:49 PM UTC

Dementia rates in Miami Dade are among the highest in the country while Utah is on the low end. What is striking is that Utah has worse air quality, which is a known risk factor, yet still shows lower prevalence.

Why is that?

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#34

Post by phoenixhaber » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:49 PM UTC

I'd like to know the effects of air pollution on at risk populations that use inhalable drugs or smoke as well. I believe the results would be much worse.

Potentially related

https://m.slashdot.org/story/446420

EDIT commenting to child so as not to start a flame war. Lung scarring, emphasema, bronchial illness and so forth can cause the lungs to trap particulates in the lungs longer than they should over the long term this exacerbating health risks. It definitely makes sense.

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#35

Post by graemep » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:52 PM UTC

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #22

graemep wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. It also reduces the world's dependence on unstable regions. However, some things that are regarded as renewable (e.g. wood burning, such as the notorious Drax power station in the UK) are more polluting than fossil fuels. Personally I doubt they are even effective at CO₂ reduction. What we need is clean energy.

> It also reduces the world's dependence on unstable regions. Do you think the world might have made these regions unstable because they have the oil?

Yes. Not just the rest of the world wanting influence over the oil supply, resources. Natural resources have harmful effects: making currencies uncompetitive, corruption as people compete for a share of the wealth rather than creating new wealth..

https://moneyterms.co.uk/dutch-disease/

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#36

Post by hopelite » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:53 PM UTC

Why do they show a picture of polluted India with people wearing masks and have some kind of skin thing going on, and then go on to show a heat map of PM2.5 rates across the USA, where the most polluted areas are nowhere near as polluted as non-western cities/countries [1].

Why do we never talk about the fact that the post polluted areas are not at all in the European civilization block, i.e., they are Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Chad, and the DR of Congo. So they should also have the highest rates of dementia if this research holds, right?

This all just seems like gaslighting lies, manipulation, and abuse.

[1] https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-air-pollution-l...

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#37

Post by sleepyguy » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:56 PM UTC

firesteelrain wrote: post #33

Dementia rates in Miami Dade are among the highest in the country while Utah is on the low end. What is striking is that Utah has worse air quality, which is a known risk factor, yet still shows lower prevalence. Why is that?

Perhaps there are more elderly people in Miami-Dade.

What we should be asking is why aren't countries like China, India, and a lot of others in Asia suffering catastrophic rates of Dementia?

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#38

Post by Mistletoe » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:56 PM UTC

firesteelrain wrote: post #33

Dementia rates in Miami Dade are among the highest in the country while Utah is on the low end. What is striking is that Utah has worse air quality, which is a known risk factor, yet still shows lower prevalence. Why is that?

There are obviously lots more factors affecting dementia than air quality.

Also Utah has worse air quality than Miami? Where in Utah? My trips to Utah I remember pristine air but of course I didn’t have an air monitor on board other than my nose.

Edit: Oh I see

>Utah, particularly in urban areas like the Wasatch Front, frequently experiences worse air quality than Miami. Utah's air quality issues are often caused by unique geographical and meteorological conditions. In winter, temperature inversions trap cold, polluted air in the valleys, leading to high levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. In the summer, heat and sunlight can create high levels of ground-level ozone. The American Lung Association has ranked cities in the Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem area among the worst for ozone and short-term particle pollution.

>In contrast, Miami's air quality is generally "Good" throughout the year, with occasional exceptions. The primary pollutants are also PM2.5 and ozone, but the geographical and weather conditions do not contribute to the same level of pollutant trapping as in Utah. The city has programs in place for air quality monitoring and standards.

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#39

Post by tim333 » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:57 PM UTC

lazide wrote: post #29

ajkjk wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well studies like this are often directed at policymakers, who actually can do something about it.

Policy makers generally only give a damn if someone else makes them - or they get something from it.

They can do the old fashioned make things better to make the voters happy and get reelected. In London the mayor has brought in a lot of anti pollution measures and although the tabloids and right wing media go on about how awful he is, he gets reelected, including my voting.

This thing says roadside ppm2.5 is down from 17 to 8 in central where I live https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/07/london-a...

Re: Air pollution directly linked to increased dementia risk

#40

Post by hopelite » Sun, Sep 07, 2025, 2:57 PM UTC

phoenixhaber wrote: post #34

I'd like to know the effects of air pollution on at risk populations that use inhalable drugs or smoke as well. I believe the results would be much worse. Potentially related https://m.slashdot.org/story/446420 EDIT commenting to child so as not to start a flame war. Lung scarring, emphasema, bronchial illness and so forth can cause the lungs to trap particulates in the lungs longer than they should over the long ter…

That does not make any sense to me. Now [inhalable] drug users and smokers are "at risk populations" and it's not the drug use or the direct inhaling of smoke, soot, and ash…usually without filtration…that is the issue and problem, but the air pollution is the thing they need to worry about?

But maybe you will be happy to hear that the rates of pollution in the whole European civilization block are orders of magnitude lower than non-European blocks[1]

[1] https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-air-pollution-l...