The association of long-term exposure to criteria air pollutants, fine particulate matter components, and airborne trace metals with late-life brain amyloid burden in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study

Authors

Erin E. Bennett, Department of Epidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: erinbennett@gwu.edu.
Ziwei Song, Department of Epidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.
Katie M. Lynch, Department of Epidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.
Chelsea Liu, Department of Epidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.
Emma K. Stapp, Department of Epidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.
Xiaohui Xu, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, College Station, TX, USA.
Eun Sug Park, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, USA.
Qi Ying, Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Richard L. Smith, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
James D. Stewart, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Eric A. Whitsel, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Thomas H. Mosley, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Dean F. Wong, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Duanping Liao, Department of Public Health Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Jeff D. Yanosky, Department of Public Health Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Adam A. Szpiro, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Joel D. Kaufman, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Rebecca F. Gottesman, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Melinda C. Power, Department of Epidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

10-1-2023

Journal

Environment international

Volume

180

DOI

10.1016/j.envint.2023.108200

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest associations between long-term ambient air pollution exposure and outcomes related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether a link exists between pollutants and brain amyloid accumulation, a biomarker of AD, is unclear. We assessed whether long-term air pollutant exposures are associated with late-life brain amyloid deposition in Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study participants. METHODS: We used a chemical transport model with data fusion to estimate ambient concentrations of PM and its components, NO, NO, O (24-hour and 8-hour), CO, and airborne trace metals. We linked concentrations to geocoded participant addresses and calculated 10-year mean exposures (2002 to 2011). Brain amyloid deposition was measured using florbetapir amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scans in 346 participants without dementia in 2012-2014, and we defined amyloid positivity as a global cortical standardized uptake value ratio ≥ the sample median of 1.2. We used logistic regression models to quantify the association between amyloid positivity and each air pollutant, adjusting for putative confounders. In sensitivity analyses, we considered whether use of alternate air pollution estimation approaches impacted findings for PM, NO, NO, and 24-hour O. RESULTS: At PET imaging, eligible participants (N = 318) had a mean age of 78 years, 56% were female, 43% were Black, and 27% had mild cognitive impairment. We did not find evidence of associations between long-term exposure to any pollutant and brain amyloid positivity in adjusted models. Findings were materially unchanged in sensitivity analyses using alternate air pollution estimation approaches for PM, NO, NO, and 24-hour O. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution may impact cognition and dementia independent of amyloid accumulation, though whether air pollution influences AD pathogenesis later in the disease course or at higher exposure levels deserves further consideration.

APA Citation

Bennett, Erin E.; Song, Ziwei; Lynch, Katie M.; Liu, Chelsea; Stapp, Emma K.; Xu, Xiaohui; Park, Eun Sug; Ying, Qi; Smith, Richard L.; Stewart, James D.; Whitsel, Eric A.; Mosley, Thomas H.; Wong, Dean F.; Liao, Duanping; Yanosky, Jeff D.; Szpiro, Adam A.; Kaufman, Joel D.; Gottesman, Rebecca F.; and Power, Melinda C., "The association of long-term exposure to criteria air pollutants, fine particulate matter components, and airborne trace metals with late-life brain amyloid burden in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3680.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3680

Department

Epidemiology