Top

Archives of Public Health

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Research

A study about the impact of indoor air pollution on cognitive function among middle-aged and older adult people in India

Authors: Subhadeep Saha, Priya Das, Tanu Das, Partha Das, Tamal Basu Roy

Published in: Archives of Public Health | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Background

In the 21st century, people still use solid fuel for cooking at home, resulting in poor indoor air quality. Prolonged exposure to such conditions may negatively affect one’s cognitive function. So, the present study examines the possible association between IAP and the cognitive function of individuals aged 45 years or above in India.

Methods

The study utilizes secondary data, procured from the longitudinal ageing study in India (2017-18). Treatment effects through regression-adjusted models were applied to represent the association between IAP and cognitive health and the results are represented by beta coefficient (β). Three separate models with a 95% confidence interval adjusting with the other factors like housing environment, individual and behavioural were framed.

Results

The study revealed that households without a separate kitchen (β = -0.64; 95%CI: -0.90 to -0.39) and electricity (β = -0.97; 95%CI: -1.34 to -0.61) significantly affect cognitive strength. Cognitive decline is likely more pronounced among older adults (β = -1.19; 95%CI: -1.42 to -0.96) than the middle-aged population. Moreover, the cognitive ability of rural residents (β = -1.11; 95%CI: -1.49 to -0.73) and women (β = -2.05; 95%CI: -2.29 to -1.81) is negatively associated with IAP exposure. Older adults with no reading habits (β = -6.28; 95%CI: -6.72; to -5.85) and physical inactivity (β = -0.96; 95%CI: -1.22 to -0.70) had a sign of notable decline in cognitive ability.

Conclusions

Findings revealed that cognitive function is negatively associated with IAP, demanding a deep intervention plan to minimize the detrimental effect.

Mathers CD, Stevens GA, Boerma T, White RA, Tobias MI. Causes of international increases in older age life expectancy. Lancet. 2015;385(9967):540–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60569-9.CrossRefPubMed

L. A. S. in I. Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), PG-1-632, 1–632. NS - Meher; 2022.

Strawbridge WJ, Wallhagen MI, Cohen RD. Successful aging and Well-Being: self-rated compared with Rowe and Kahn. Gerontologist. 2002;42(6):727–33. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/42.6.727.CrossRefPubMed

Zorluoglu G, Kamasak ME, Tavacioglu L, Ozanar PO. A mobile application for cognitive screening of dementia. Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2015;118(2):252–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2014.11.004.CrossRefPubMed

Lee M, Kim K. Prevalence and risk factors for self-neglect among older adults living alone in South Korea. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2014;78(2):115–31. https://doi.org/10.2190/AG.78.2.b.CrossRefPubMed

WHO. Mortality due to air pollution. 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health#:~:text=. The combined effects of ambient,(COPD) and lung cancer.

Wimo A, Ljunggren G, Winblad B. Costs of dementia and dementia care: a review. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1997;12(8):841–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1166(199708)12:8%3c841::AID-GPS652%3e3.0.CO;2-R.CrossRefPubMed

Jana A, Varghese JS, Naik G. Household air pollution and cognitive health among Indian older adults: evidence from LASI. Environ Res. 2022;214:113880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113880.CrossRefPubMed

Priyadarsini SP, Ibrahim RM, Somasundaram VM, Nayeem RA, Balasubramanian R. A cross-sectional study on determinants of indoor air pollution and its perceived impact among the residents of urban field practice area of AMCH, Salem, Tamil Nadu. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022;11(3):948–54. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_780_21.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

10.

Zhang Q, Wu Y, Han T, Liu E. Changes in cognitive function and risk factors for cognitive impairment of the Elderly in China: 2005–2014. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162847.

11.

Paital B, Agrawal PK. Air pollution by NO2 and PM2.5 explains COVID-19 infection severity by overexpression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in respiratory cells: a review. Environ Chem Lett. 2021;19(1):25–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01091-w.CrossRefPubMed

12.

Krishnamoorthy Y, Rajaa S, Ramasubramani P, Saya GK. Association between indoor air pollution and cognitive function among nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults in India—A multilevel modelling approach. Indoor Air. 2022;32(1):e12929. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12929.CrossRefPubMed

13.

Turner MC, Andersen ZJ, Baccarelli A, Diver WR, Gapstur SM, Pope III, Prada CA, Samet D, Thurston J, G., Cohen A. Outdoor air pollution and cancer: an overview of the current evidence and public health recommendations. Cancer J Clin. 2020;70(6):460–79. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21632.CrossRef

14.

Dakua M, Karmakar R, Barman P. Exposure to indoor air pollution and the cognitive functioning of elderly rural women: a cross-sectional study using LASI data, India. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):2272. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14749-7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

15.

West JJ, Cohen A, Dentener F, Brunekreef B, Zhu T, Armstrong B, et al. What we breathe impacts our health: improving understanding of the link between Air Pollution and Health. Environ Sci Technol. 2016;50(10):4895–904. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03827.CrossRefPubMed

16.

WHO. 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia.

17.

Krishnamoorthy G, Sivaranjini K, Sakthivel M, Majella MG, Kumar S, Ganesh YS. Association between indoor air Pollution and cognitive impairment among adults in rural puducherry, South India. J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2018;09(04):529–34. https://doi.org/10.4103/jnrp.jnrp_123_18.CrossRef

18.

Zhang F, Shi L, Liu S, Shi J, Cheng M. Indoor air quality in Tujia dwellings in Hunan, China: field tests, Numerical simulations, and mitigation strategies. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148396.

19.

Guo M, Du C, Li B, Yao R, Tang Y, Jiang Y, Liu H, Su H, Zhou Y, Wang L, Yang X, Zhou M, Yu W. Reducing particulates in indoor air can improve the circulation and cardiorespiratory health of old people: a randomized, double-blind crossover trial of air filtration. Sci Total Environ. 2021;798:149248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149248.CrossRefPubMed

20.

Mendes A, Papoila AL, Carreiro-Martins P, Bonassi S, Caires I, Palmeiro T, Aguiar L, Pereira C, Neves P, Mendes D, Botelho MAS, Neuparth N, Teixeira JP. The impact of indoor air quality and contaminants on respiratory health of older people living in long-term care residences in Porto. Age Ageing. 2016;45(1):136–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afv157.CrossRefPubMed

21.

Saenz JL, Wong R, Ailshire JA. Indoor air pollution and cognitive function among older Mexican adults. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2018;72(1):21 LP – 26. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2017-209704.CrossRef

22.

Braun KPJ. Preventing cognitive impairment in children with epilepsy. Curr Opin Neurol. 2017;30(2). https://journals.lww.com/co-neurology/fulltext/2017/04000/preventing_cognitive_impairment_in_children_with.5.aspx.

23.

Kim H, Noh J, Noh Y, Oh SS, Koh SB, Kim C. Gender difference in the effects of Outdoor Air Pollution on cognitive function among Elderly in Korea. Front Public Health. 2019;7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00375.

24.

Schikowski T, Altuğ H. The role of air pollution in cognitive impairment and decline. Neurochem Int. 2020;136:104708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2020.104708.CrossRefPubMed

25.

Jelonek Z, Drobniak A, Mastalerz M, Jelonek I. Emissions during grilling with wood pellets and chips. Atmospher Environ X. 2021;12:100140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2021.100140.CrossRef

26.

Jiang X-Q, Mei X-D, Feng D. Air pollution and chronic airway diseases: what should people know and do? J Thorac Disease. 2016;8(1):E31–40. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.11.50.CrossRef

27.

Mitra P, Chakraborty D, Mondal NK. Assessment of household air pollution exposure of tribal women. Sci Total Environ. 2022;817:152869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152869.CrossRefPubMed

28.

Poh TY, Ali NABM, Mac Aogáin M, Kathawala MH, Setyawati MI, Ng KW, Chotirmall SH. Inhaled nanomaterials and the respiratory microbiome: clinical, immunological and toxicological perspectives. Part Fibre Toxicol. 2018;15(1):46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12989-018-0282-0.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

29.

Peeples L. How air pollution threatens brain health. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2020;117(25):13856–60. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2008940117.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

30.

Brockmeyer S, D’Angiulli A. How air pollution alters brain development: the role of neuroinflammation. 2016;7(1):24–30. https://doi.org/10.1515/tnsci-2016-0005.

31.

Lee YG, Lee PH, Choi SM, An MH, Jang AS. Effects of Air pollutants on Airway diseases. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189905.

32.

Cacciottolo M, Wang X, Driscoll I, Woodward N, Saffari A, Reyes J, Serre ML, Vizuete W, Sioutas C, Morgan TE, Gatz M, Chui HC, Shumaker SA, Resnick SM, Espeland MA, Finch CE, Chen JC. Particulate air pollutants, APOE alleles and their contributions to cognitive impairment in older women and to amyloidogenesis in experimental models. Transl Psychiatry. 2017;7(1):e1022-1022. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.280.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

33.

Albert M, Moss MB, Blacker D, Tanzi R, McArdle JJ. Longitudinal change in cognitive performance among individuals with mild cognitive impairment. Neuropsychology. 2007;21(2):158–169. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.21.2.158.

34.

Cox RJA, Wallace RB. The role of incarceration as a risk factor for cognitive impairment. J Gerontol B. 2022;77(12):e247-62. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbac138.CrossRef

35.

Qu W, Yan Z, Qu G, Ikram M. Household Solid Fuel Use and Cardiovascular Disease in Rural areas in Shanxi, China. Iran J Public Health. 2015;44(5):625–38.PubMedPubMedCentral

36.

Liu Q, Sasco AJ, Riboli E, Hu MX. Indoor air Pollution and Lung Cancer in Guangzhou, people’s Republic of China. Am J Epidemiol. 1993;137(2):145–54. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116654.CrossRefPubMed

37.

Hammer T. Consequences of unemployment in the transition from Youth to Adulthood in a life course perspective. Youth Soc. 1996;27(4):450–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X96027004003.CrossRef

38.

Lee J, Meijer E, Langa KM, Ganguli M, Varghese M, Banerjee J, Khobragade P, Angrisani M, Kurup R, Chakrabarti SS, Gambhir IS, Koul PA, Goswami D, Talukdar A, Mohanty RR, Yadati RS, Padmaja M, Sankhe L, Rajguru C, Dey AB. Prevalence of dementia in India: National and state estimates from a nationwide study. Alzheimers Dement. 2023;19(7):2898–912. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12928.CrossRefPubMed

39.

Bradbury B. Surviving as a Widow in 19th-century Montreal. Urban History Rev / Revue D’Histoire Urbaine. 1989;17(3):148–60. https://doi.org/10.7202/1017628ar.CrossRef

40.

Lloret A, Esteve D, Lloret MA, Monllor P, López B, León JL, Cervera-Ferri A. Is oxidative stress the link between cerebral small vessel disease, sleep disruption, and oligodendrocyte dysfunction in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease? Front Physiol. 2021;12. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.708061.

41.

Begum BA, Paul SK, Dildar Hossain M, Biswas SK, Hopke PK. Indoor air pollution from particulate matter emissions in different households in rural areas of Bangladesh. Build Environ. 2009;44(5):898–903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2008.06.005.CrossRef

42.

Ghimire S, Mishra SR, Sharma A, Siweya A, Shrestha N, Adhikari B. Geographic and socio-economic variation in markers of indoor air pollution in Nepal: evidence from nationally-representative data. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):195. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6512-z.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

43.

Liu P, Han C, Teng M. Does clean cooking energy improve mental health? Evidence from China. Energy Policy. 2022;166:113011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113011.CrossRef

44.

Barrington-Leigh C, Baumgartner J, Carter E, Robinson BE, Tao S, Zhang Y. An evaluation of air quality, home heating and well-being under Beijing’s programme to eliminate household coal use. Nat Energy. 2019;4(5):416–23. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0386-2.CrossRef

45.

Meier A, Rainer L, Greenberg S. Miscellaneous electrical energy use in homes. Energy. 1992;17(5):509–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-5442(92)90087-G.CrossRef

46.

Patowary R, Baruah DC. Feasibility study of TEG-integrated biomass cook stove for electrical power generation specific to rural areas with inadequate electricity. Energy Sour Part A Recover Utilization Environ Eff. 2023;45(2):5714–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2019.1673503.CrossRef

47.

Nix E, Paulose J, Shrubsole C, Altamirano-Medina H, Davies M, Khosla R, Belesova K, Wilkinson P. Evaluating Housing Health hazards: Prevalence, practices and priorities in Delhi’s Informal settlements. J Urb Health. 2020;97(4):502–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-020-00442-w.CrossRef

48.

Singh AL, Jamal S. A study of risk factors associated with indoor air pollution in the low income households in Aligarh city, India. E3 J Environ Res Manage. 2012;3(1):1–8. http://www.e3journals.org/JERM.

49.

Lee Y, Chi I, Palinkas A, L. Widowhood, leisure activity engagement, and cognitive function among older adults. Aging Ment Health. 2019;23(6):771–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2018.1450837.CrossRefPubMed

50.

Khan J. Nutritional status, alcohol-tobacco consumption behaviour and cognitive decline among older adults in India. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):21102. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25563-x.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

51.

Ott A, Andersen K, Dewey ME, Letenneur L, Brayne C, Copeland JRM, Dartigues J-F, Kragh–Sorensen P, Lobo A, Martinez–Lage JM, Stijnen T, Hofman A, Launer LJ. Effect of smoking on global cognitive function in nondemented elderly. Neurology. 2004;62(6):920 LP–924. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.WNL.0000115110.35610.80.

52.

Van Dyck D, Teychenne M, McNaughton SA, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Salmon J. Relationship of the perceived social and physical environment with mental health-related quality of life in middle-aged and older adults: mediating effects of physical activity. PLoS One. 2015;10(3):e0120475. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120475.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

53.

Zhang Y, Ke L, Fu Y, Di Q, Ma X. Physical activity attenuates negative effects of short-term exposure to ambient air pollution on cognitive function. Environ Int. 2022;160:107070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.107070.CrossRefPubMed

54.

Sun F, Norman IJ, While AE. Physical activity in older people: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2013;13(1):449. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-449.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Title: A study about the impact of indoor air pollution on cognitive function among middle-aged and older adult people in India
Authors: Subhadeep Saha
Priya Das
Tanu Das
Partha Das
Tamal Basu Roy
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Archives of Public Health / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 2049-3258
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-024-01286-5

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

A study about the impact of indoor air pollution on cognitive function among middle-aged and older adult people in India

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2024

Co-occurrence of habit-forming risk behaviors and their socio-demographic, health status and lifestyle determinants: a population-based cross-sectional study

The ENJOY Seniors Exercise Park IMP-ACT project: IMProving older people’s health through physical ACTivity: a hybrid II implementation design study protocol

Beyond correlates: the social gradient in childhood overweight

Consumer nutrition environment measurements for nutrient-dense food availability and food sustainability: a scoping review

Patterns and trends of medicinal poisoning substances: a population-based cohort study of injuries in 0–11 year old children from 1998–2018

Correlates of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among the forcibly displaced: evidence from Libya