Some 626,000 people worldwide died from dementia in 2023 stemming from air pollution exposure, according to a new report that further documents the links between dirty air and debilitating neurological diseases.
That estimated tally accounted for more than one-quarter of total dementia deaths for that year, according to the latest edition of the State of Global Air overview released Thursday by the Health Effects Institute.
It’s the first time the Boston-based research organization has put a number on the toll as researchers continue to detail increasingly concrete evidence of the connection.
In tightening its annual exposure standard for the microscopic fine particles commonly called soot, for example, EPA last year predicted that the change could eventually prevent about 1,000 hospital admissions annually for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. A paper published soon after tied long-term soot exposure to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
