Coloradans Are at an Increased Risk of Dementia Because of Smoke

Dementia is a scary thing that affects not only the person who has it but also their loved ones. Memories start to slip, demeanor can change, and much more. While dementia is not a specific disease, it is a specific term that describes a group of symptoms. According to Cleveland Clinic, five to eight percent of people over the age of 65 have some form of dementia, and nearly half of the people over the age of 85 have dementia.

What Causes Dementia?

Dementia is thought to be caused by damage to the brain. This could be from lack of oxygen, damaged nerve cells, and more. Recently, an environmental cause has been linked to an increased risk of dementia.

This recent study shows that long-term smoke exposure to concentrations of smoke can be linked to an increased risk of dementia. The study examined medical records from more than one million people in Southern California from 2008 to 2019. Air quality records in the same time period show that particles from wildfire smoke increase the risk for dementia.

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Wildfire smoke contains higher concentrations of molecules with toxic and inflammatory properties according to scientificamerican.com. As a Colorado resident, this may concern you as it seems as if there is a wildfire and a lot of some every summer in the state. Future studies can start to investigate if certain types of dementia, like Alzheimer's disease, could have prominent links to wildfire smoke more than others.

The main takeaway from the study published by JAMA Neurology finds that for every one microgram increase in wildfire smoke pollution per cubic meter of air over a three-year period, the odds of dementia rise by 18 percent. More information on the wildfire smoke being linked to dementia can be found at jamanetwork.com.