Sophie Robson

• The impact of outdoor air pollution on Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review
• Master of Pharmacy with Honours

Air pollution is a major global health risk. Neuroimaging techniques have revealed the impact of long-term exposure (months to years) to outdoor air pollution on brain health. We conducted a systematic review to explore the effects of long-term exposure to outdoor air pollutants on Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like brain changes. The review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023482979) and followed PRISMA guidelines. Embase, Medline, Scopus, and CINAHL were searched using terms associated with “air pollution”, “neuroimaging” and “AD”. Peer-reviewed articles using neuroimaging to assess AD-like brain changes after exposure to long-term air pollution were included. After full-text screening, ten articles were included and quality assessed. Nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter 10 were associated with reduced cortical thickness, however, expected cognitive decline didn’t always coincide with these changes creating uncertainty. Cortical thinning could predispose individuals to AD development and further research is needed to determine whether air pollution is an AD risk factor.

Funded by: Newcastle University Research Scholarship

Project Supervisor: Professor Sarah Slight, Dr Nehal Hassan and Dr Sarah Wilson