Smoke from forest fires may be more dangerous to mental health than other types of air pollution, according to a new study.
The report, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, comes at a time when millions of people in the western United States live under air quality warnings affected by wildfires.
The dangerous stuff in this case is fine particulate matter, or PM2.5—particles 30 times smaller than the diameter of a hair that can be inhaled into the lungs and into the bloodstream.
This pollution from traffic, factories and fires can cause or worsen heart and lung disease, and may play a role in dementia, according to new research.
In the study, researchers reviewed health data from 1.2 million people in Southern California between 2009 and 2019.
In the study, they examined air quality monitoring and other data to estimate PM 2.5 exposure over the past three years from forest fires or other causes.
The study found a 21 percent increase in dementia diagnoses for every 1 microgram increase in particulate matter emitted from wildfires.
