Short-term exposure to particulate matter and effects on emergency hospital admissions for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease: an ecological study from an aged European metropolis

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are important neurodegenerative disorders, especially in an aging population context that prevails in high-developed countries and Europe in particular. It is known that exposure to particulate matter (PM) leads to the production and deposition of aggregate clusters of proteins, which are linked to neurological disorders and impediments. Nonetheless, only a few works study the short-term exposure to PM and its association with hospital admissions or mortality due to AD or PD. This study assesses the association between exposure to PM and emergency hospital admissions for AD and PD in an aging metropole, serving as a case study for most European big cities. Daily emergency hospital admissions due to AD and PD data were obtained for the 2012 to 2015 period and multivariate Poisson regression models were used to evaluate the association between PM and admissions while controlling for the day of the week, seasonality, and environmental factors. Furthermore, lagged observations were assessed. Results show that an increase in exposure to PM2.5 resulted in a percentage increase in emergency hospital admissions due to AD and PD. Also, age was an effect modifier for PD admissions. Additionally, greater effects were felt at shorter lags for AD and delayed/longer lags for PD. This study found a relationship between short-term exposure to PM and AD and PD hospital admissions in an urban context, drawing attention to the importance of air pollution for urban health, especially in areas with an aged population structure.