Wildfire smoke can aggravate a variety of medical conditions, from asthma to heart disease.
Now, new research adds another worry to the mix. It can elevate the risk of dementia.
A study published Monday in the scientific journal JAMA Neurology, finds that long-term exposure to smoke concentrations is associated with a higher risk of dementia diagnosis over time. For every one microgram increase in wildfire pollution per cubic meter of air over the course of a three-year period, the odds of dementia diagnosis rise by about 18 percent, the study finds.
That’s compared with each person’s baseline risk of dementia diagnosis, which remains relatively low among the general population. Still, the increased risks are large enough to pose a public health concern.
