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    Air pollution in major Canadian cities linked to poorer brain health: study
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    Air pollution in major Canadian cities linked to poorer brain health: study

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    27 Comments

    1. Leather-Paramedic-10 on

      >They found that two major pollutants – fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide – were associated with lower scores of brain function on two different brain tests. One measured things like memory, recall and language, while the other was a non-language-specific test that measured processing speed – how fast the brain works.
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      >“We found statistically significant, subtle yet important lower scores on these two tests associated with exposures to the two pollutants,” Azab said.
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      >Those who were exposed to higher levels of pollutants, scored slightly lower than those who were exposed to lower levels.
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      >The researchers also wanted to translate what that would look like in terms of aging. They found that every five-microgram per cubic meter increase of exposure to PM2.5 was associated with lower scores similar to about two to 12 years of aging.

    2. scott_c86 on

      A very good reason why we should invest more in transit and active transportation infrastructure

    3. FontMeHard on

      yeah we know pollution is bad. Start blaming the billionaires. Their companies, their bribes to politician, their private jet travel, their intensive resource usage.

      Stop passing the onus onto us regular people. I’m tired of it.

    4. Hotter_Noodle on

      “ThIs ExPlAiNs WhY cItIeS aRe So LiBeRaL” ~someone on my local Facebook group probably

    6. Realistic-Buy4975 on

      Maybe don’t let corporations pollute a shit ton, make single use plastics illegal, and invest in railways

    7. KingofLingerie on

      nothing will be done. Air pollution is important to the economy, people are just **’low value human capital**

    8. TacoTuesdayy87 on

      And if the government cared at all, then they wouldn’t be forcing hundreds of thousands of people back onto the roads in mass RTO mandates across the country.

      They can shove their “carbon tax” bs too.

    18. BrightLuchr on

      I lived in Toronto many years. I’ve lived in a small southwestern Ontario for years. I think the air was cleaner in the big city. The number one difference is “vintage” cars/trucks that are so common in rural areas and complete lack of transit. Each of these vintage vehicles puts out more pollution than a dozen modern vehicles. Emission controls really do work well on modern vehicles. And we don’t do emissions testing anymore, so lots of cars are heavily modified from factory condition.

      Rural areas are also industrial. Farms are large industrial enterprises with industrual inputs and outputs. A whole lot of farm output isn’t used for food – the biggest example is ethanol for vehicles. But the biggest impact of farms is in the fall when harvesting throws massive amounts of dust and fibres into the air. It triggers allergies more than in the big city.

    20. goleafsgo13 on

      Just look at the US. Lead paint, lead gas, and much more…

      Doesn’t surprise me that air pollution leads to poorer mental outcomes

    25. Hanzo_The_Ninja on

      A *ridiculous* number of studies from all over the world have linked long-term exposure to combustion engine exhaust to declining cognition, increased risk of dementia, elevated risk of heart disease and lung cancer, and increased risk of stillbirth and miscarriage.

    27. Guilty-Ad-5816 on

      Attention Saint John… Google how much of these gases/chemicals are produced by a refinery!