Breathing in toxic air fumes could increase dementia risk, a study claims.
一項研究稱,吸入有毒空氣會增加患痴呆症的風險。
Scientists found mental decline was greater in people exposed to higher pollution levels.
科學家發現,暴露於更高汙染程度的人,其智力下降幅度更大。
They fear inhaling poisonous particles and gases could heighten the chances of irreversible damage to the brain. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
他們擔心吸入有毒顆粒和氣體會增加對大腦不可逆轉傷害的機率。其研究結果發表在《美國國家科學院院刊》上。
Previous studies have estimated air pollution causes an estimated 40,000 premature deaths a year in Britain from lung disease and heart attacks.
此前的研究已經估算出,英國每年約有4萬人因空氣汙染死於肺病和心臟病。
Now scientists from Beijing University say toxic air also harms the brain. They gathered data from 16,000 households that took part in a three-year health study.
現在,北京大學的科學家說有毒的空氣也會傷害大腦。他們收集了16000個家庭的數據,這些家庭參與了一項為期三年的健康研究。
Researchers compared air pollution levels with scores on memory tests and maths questions.
研究人員將空氣汙染程度,記憶力測試分數和數學測試分數進行了比較。
Those exposed to the highest levels of toxic pollutants in the air saw the biggest decline in mental ability.
那些暴露於最濃汙染空氣物中的人群。其智力下降幅度最大。
Men fared worse than women, the study revealed.
研究顯示,男性的情況比女性更糟。
The researchers said: 「Our findings imply the effect on social welfare could be much larger than previously thought.」
研究人員說:「我們的研究結果表明,對社會福利的這種影響可能比之前想像的要大得多。」