Air Pollution Isn’t Just Bad for Your Lungs — It’s Damaging Your Brain Too

This one really caught my attention — I’ve heard of air pollution affecting heart health, but now it’s tied to actual worsening of Alzheimer’s disease. That’s scary stuff.

This September 2025 study by Kim, published in JAMA Neurology, found that just one year of exposure to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) was significantly associated with more severe Alzheimer’s-related brain pathology and faster cognitive decline. Using 602 brain autopsies, the study revealed that increased PM2.5 levels correlated with greater accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins, even after adjusting for key variables. If this holds up, environmental exposure may be far more central to neurodegeneration than we realized.

Learn More: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/2838665