Long-term exposure to ambient O3 and PM2.5 is associated with reduced cognitive performance in young adults: A retrospective longitudinal repeated measures study in adults aged 18-90 years

Lauren H Wyatt; Stephanie E Cleland; Linda Wei; Naman Paul; Amrita Patil; Cavin Ward-Caviness; Sarah B Henderson; Ana G Rappold

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121085

Long-term exposure to ambient O₃ and PM_2.5 is associated with reduced cognitive performance in young adults: A retrospective longitudinal repeated measures study in adults aged 18-90 years

Environ Pollut. 2023 Mar 1:320:121085. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121085. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Authors

Lauren H Wyatt¹, Stephanie E Cleland², Linda Wei¹, Naman Paul³, Amrita Patil¹, Cavin Ward-Caviness¹, Sarah B Henderson³, Ana G Rappold⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
² Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education at the Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
³ British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁴ Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Electronic address: rappold.ana@epa.gov.

PMID: 36642175
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121085

Abstract

A growing body of evidence indicates that exposure to air pollution affects cognitive performance; however, few studies have assessed this in the context of repeated measures within a large group of individuals or in a population with a large age range. In this study, we evaluated the associations between long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and ozone (O₃) in large cohort of adults aged 18-90 years. The study cohort included 29,091 Lumosity users in the contiguous US who completed 20 repetitions of the Lost in Migration game between 2017 and 2018. Game scores reflect the ability to filter information and avoid distracting information. Long-term air pollution data included ambient PM_2.5 and O₃ averaged for the 365-day period before each gameplay date. Generalized linear models were used to examine the associations between long-term PM_2.5 and O₃ and game score percentile. Co-pollutant models were adjusted for meteorology, time trend, age, gender, device, education, local socioeconomic factors, and urbanicity. Results represent the change in attention game score percentile per 1 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 or 0.01 ppm increase in O₃. In the entire cohort, a -0.10 (95% CI: -0.16, -0.04) change in score percentile was associated with PM_2.5, while no significant association was observed with O₃. Modification of these associations by age was observed for both PM_2.5 and O₃, with stronger associations observed in younger users. In users aged 18-29, a -0.25 (-0.45, -0.05) change in score percentile was associated with PM_2.5, while no associations were observed in other age groups. With O₃, there was a -2.92 (-4.63, -1.19) and -2.81 (-4.29, -1.25) change in score percentile for users aged 18-29 and 30-39, respectively. We observed that elevated long-term PM_2.5 and O₃ were associated with decreased focus scores in young adults, but follow-up research is necessary to further illuminate these associations.

Keywords: Adult; Air pollution; Cognitive performance; Long-term exposure; Ozone; Particulate matter.

Published by Elsevier Ltd.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / analysis
Cognition
Environmental Exposure / analysis
Humans
Ozone* / analysis
Particulate Matter / analysis
Retrospective Studies
Young Adult

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Ozone