Notice: eScholarship will undergo scheduled maintenance from Tuesday, January 21 to Wednesday, January 22. Some functionality may not be available during this time. Learn more at eScholarship Support.
Association between Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease among a Cognitively Healthy Population-Based Cohort
Epidemiological evidence suggests air pollution adversely affects cognition and increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but little is known about the biological effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5μm) on early predictors of future disease risk.
Objectives
We investigated the association between 1-, 3-, and 5-y exposure to ambient and traffic-related PM2.5 and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of AD.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from 1,113 cognitively healthy adults (45-75 y of age) from the Emory Healthy Brain Study in Georgia in the United States. CSF biomarker concentrations of Aβ42, tTau, and pTau, were collected at enrollment (2016-2020) and analyzed with the Roche Elecsys system. Annual ambient and traffic-related residential PM2.5 concentrations were estimated at a 1-km and 250-m resolution, respectively, and computed for each participant's geocoded address, using three exposure time periods based on specimen collection date. Associations between PM2.5 and CSF biomarker concentrations, considering continuous and dichotomous (dichotomized at clinical cutoffs) outcomes, were estimated with multiple linear/logistic regression, respectively, controlling for potential confounders (age, gender, race, ethnicity, body mass index, and neighborhood socioeconomic status).
Results
Interquartile range (IQR; IQR=0.845) increases in 1-y [β:-0.101; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.18, -0.02] and 3-y (β:-0.078; 95% CI: -0.15, -0.00) ambient PM2.5 exposures were negatively associated with Aβ42 CSF concentrations. Associations between ambient PM2.5 and Aβ42 were similar for 5-y estimates (β:-0.076; 95% CI: -0.160, 0.005). Dichotomized CSF variables revealed similar associations between ambient PM2.5 and Aβ42. Associations with traffic-related PM2.5 were similar but not significant. Associations between PM2.5 exposures and tTau, pTau tTau/Aβ42, or pTau/Aβ42 levels were mainly null.
Conclusion
In our study, consistent trends were found between 1-y PM2.5 exposure and decreased CSF Aβ42, which suggests an accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain and an increased risk of developing AD. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13503.
