AIR POLLUTION IN BRAIN AGING AND DEMENTIA

Over 75% of older Americans are living in metropolitan areas, and this urban-dwelling aging population will continue to grow in the coming decades. Ambient air pollution, a ubiquitous exposure in urban environments, has emerged as a new environmental factor in brain aging and dementia. Over the last few years, accumulating epidemiologic and neurotoxicological data have shown the aging brain is vulnerable to neurotoxic effects of ambient air pollutants. For instance, elevated levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5: PM with aerodynamic diameters