Older adults in societies are the bellwethers of culture and the encapsulators of oral history. If we lose them, we lose immeasurably in too many ways to consider. Still, we fail them and the children if we do nothing about environmental pollution, especially in the air.
Over the past several decades, too much research has been accumulated to dismiss this lack of attention to the most imperative health factors: the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.
We don’t need to smoke cigarettes; we need to breathe in polluted air, which will damage our lungs and possibly cause lung cancer. If the damage isn’t confined to our lungs, it may permeate other areas of our body and even affect our brains. Remember, our brains are oxygen-hungry, and when we deprive them of what they need, they cannot function as we wish.
While all of us, our children included, are subjected to the ravages of air pollution, our older adults will suffer severely. We already know that cognitive impairment comes with age for some, but air pollution exacerbates the problem and can lead to early dementia with all its negative trappings.
Exposure to air pollution in old age is a risk factor for dementia that can be changed, but epidemiological studies have shown mixed results for cognitive loss. Improving air quality (AQ) has been linked to better heart health, lower mortality, and better pulmonary health. However, as far as had been known, no studies had examined the link with brain function. A study was undertaken to see if higher AQ levels were linked to a slower rate of cognitive loss in women aged 74 to 92.
During the course of ten years, measurements of brain health were taken from 2,232 women living in the 48 contiguous US states. Findings showed that older women with better long-term AQ had slower cognitive losses.
Studies show that psychosocial stress can make people more or less sensitive to environmental hazards. For example, older people who live in areas with high-stress levels may be more likely to get sick from breathing in harmful substances like air pollution. The immune system is highly sensitive to stress levels in all of us, and once that is affected, our health may be in decline.
Along with the likelihood that they will succumb physically to environmental pollution comes the increased stress of aging, which contributes to difficulties in independence, loneliness, inadequate health coverage, or a lack of availability of health resources and financial factors. Together, this toxic brew subjects older adults to a lower quality of life.
Is this why they worked all those years at low-paying jobs or in environmentally damaging, dead-end careers? Weren’t they supposed to be going into their golden years, where they would enjoy the fruits of their labors? How can that happen if they don’t have clean air to breathe?
Another study of 25,314 adults older than 50 found that higher amounts of traffic-related air pollutants in their homes, such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter from road and non-road traffic, were linked to a higher risk of losing their independence. Loss of independence was described as switching to a nursing home or getting help with at least one activity of daily living because of health or memory issues.
A 17-year national cohort study was conducted in the US to examine the links between fine particulate matter and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that people who are exposed to mass and major pollution elements for a long time, especially from traffic and burning fossil fuels, are more likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
There is renewed interest in maintaining people in their homes rather than moving them to residential facilities, a.k.a. nursing homes, because it has a great effect on positive mental health and longevity. Most adults want to age in place, and it can be very good for them physically and mentally. However, older people need help from their community to age in place safely and with honor.
Familiar places and surroundings can help older people feel like they have a sense of identity, make it easier to use neighborhood services, and keep them socially connected by putting friends close by. How does that happen in a community where the air is polluted? The answer is patently obvious, and anyone who studies environmental science knows it.
Walking in some communities is no longer pleasurable; in some areas of the country, industrial complexes send volumes of particulate matter into the air and over the surrounding homes and backyards, making breathing a battle.
Aren’t we being encouraged to go into the surrounding parklands near our homes? Nature centers and parks are only as good as the air that pervades them. Could this be seen as violating people’s civil rights to breathe, especially those with chronic lung or other health disorders? Air pollution robs older adults of their mentation as research has shown.
We are entering the “silver tsunami” age, when large numbers of people worldwide will live longer but may suffer the effects of air pollution. Society is expanding into a burgeoning group of these adults with multiple medical disorders and potentially dementia from air pollution. Now, there is a significant need for policy decisions to be made regarding what is important: air quality or providing billions of dollars in healthcare to these individuals.
