Association of midlife air pollution and road proximity exposure with 29-year cognitive decline

Melinda C. Power, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: power@gwu.edu.
Ziwei Song, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: ziwei.song@gwu.edu.
Annie Chen, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: annie.chen1@gwu.edu.
Katie M. Lynch, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: kmlynch@gwu.edu.
Naa Adoley Parker-Allotey, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: naaallotey@gwu.edu.
Erin E. Bennett, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: erinbennett@gwu.edu.
Xiaohui Xu, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, 212 Adriance Lab Rd, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Electronic address: xiaohui.xu@tamu.edu.
Eric A. Whitsel, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, 2101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, CB #7435, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 125 MacNider Hall, CB #7005, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: eric_whitsel@med.unc.edu.
Richard L. Smith, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 318 Hanes Hall, CB #3260, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, 170 Rosenau Hall, CB #7400, Chapel Hill, NC 275999, USA. Electronic address: rls@email.unc.edu.
James D. Stewart, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Drive, 2101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, CB #7435, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: j.stewart@unc.edu.
Eun Sug Park, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System, 3135 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Electronic address: e-park@tti.tamu.edu.
Qi Ying, Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell Street, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Electronic address: qying@civil.tamu.edu.
Emma K. Stapp, Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: emma.stapp@gwu.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

10-15-2025

Journal

Neurotoxicology

Volume

111

DOI

10.1016/j.neuro.2025.103335

Keywords

Air pollution; Cognition; Cohort study; Dementia; Epidemiology; Metals

Abstract

Midlife ambient air pollution exposures may be etiologically relevant to late-life cognition. We considered whether midlife air pollution and traffic exposures are associated with midlife to late-life cognitive change. Our sample included Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort study participants with cognitive testing at Visit 2 (1990-1992, ages 48-67), which was repeated at Visit 4 (1996-1998), Visit 5 (2011-2013), Visit 6 (2016-2017), and Visit 7 (2018-2019). At participant addresses, we estimated: [i] 1990-1992 average ambient air pollutant concentrations for 18 pollutants using Community Multiscale Air Quality chemical transport model output fused with observed annual concentrations, and [ii] distance to major roads and road density within a 500-meter radius. We used meta-analysis of site-specific adjusted linear mixed-effects models to quantify associations between each exposure and 29-year cognitive change. Among 12,700 eligible participants, mean age was 57 years, 56 % were female, 24 % identified as Black, and 79 % had at least a high school education. There was no statistical support linking higher exposures to criteria air pollutants, most PM components, or roadway proximity in midlife and cognitive change. However, there was some suggestion that higher midlife exposures to nitrates, copper, iron, lead, and zinc may be associated with greater 29-year decline in executive function and that higher midlife exposures to copper and lead may be associated with greater declines in a global z-score. Our cohort study does not support a link between midlife exposures to most air pollutants and mid- to late-life-cognitive change. Confirmation or repudiation of suggestive findings in an independent dataset is warranted.

Department

Epidemiology

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