In a paper published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from Yale University present the case that pollution is linked to a significant decline in mental abilities, and that the impact grows with age.
Cutting concentration of particulate matter smaller than 10 μm (PM10) in China would sharply improve people’s performance in verbal and logical activities.
The damage on the aging brain by air pollution likely imposes substantial health and economic costs, considering that cognitive functioning is critical for the elderly for both running daily errands and making high-stake decisions.
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It must be noted that particulate matter concentration in urban air is closely related to Diesel fueled transport. Gas fueled transport emit close to zero particulates. According to this study, the replacement of diesel vehicles by gas vehicles would bring significant health, social and economic benefits, especially to the weakest sector of the population.