A health warning has been issued for those who light candles at home, with a recent University of Birmingham study revealing the potential brain impairment risks that could even contribute to dementia. Shoppers may unknowingly experience these symptoms while perusing supermarket aisles.
The research indicated serious cognitive disturbances following candle use, confirming that even low-level air pollution from such sources can hinder emotional interpretation and task concentration. The team of scientists warn that this could affect mundane tasks like your regular grocery run.
Tests showed that short exposures to high particle matter (PM) levels, similar to those produced by candle smoke, could disrupt an individual’s focus, ability to exclude distractions, and social etiquette. Participants were exposed to either heavy pollution via candle smoke or clean air in the experiment, assessing their cognitive functions both before and after a four-hour period.
The cognitive tests looked at working memory, emotion recognition, selective attention, psychomotor speed, and sustained attention. Dr Thomas Faherty from the university stated: “Our study provides compelling evidence that even short-term exposure to particulate matter can have immediate negative effects on brain functions essential for daily activities, such as doing the weekly supermarket shop.”
In a study published by Nature Communications, a team from the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester has unearthed that air pollution negatively impacts both selective attention and emotion recognition – regardless of whether participants were breathing normally or only through their mouths. The researchers suggest that the inflammation caused by pollutants may lead to these cognitive impairments, reports Surrey Live.
Interestingly, while selective attention and emotion recognition suffered, working memory seemed to withstand short-term exposure to pollution. Professor Francis Pope, co-author and representative of the University of Birmingham, stated: “Poor air quality undermines intellectual development and worker productivity, with significant societal and economic implications in a high-tech world reliant on cognitive excellence. Reduced productivity impacts economic growth, further highlighting the urgent need for stricter air quality regulations and public health measures to combat the harmful effects of pollution on brain health, particularly in highly polluted urban areas.”
Cognitive functioning covers a wide range of mental processes that are vital for everyday tasks. Selective attention, for instance, aids decision-making and goal-oriented behaviour, such as prioritising items on your shopping list in the supermarket while disregarding other products and resisting impulse purchases.
Working memory acts as a temporary holding area for information, crucial for tasks that require simultaneous processing and storage. This is essential for multitasking activities like planning a schedule or managing multiple conversations.
Socio-emotional cognition, which involves recognising and interpreting emotions in oneself and others, helps steer socially acceptable behaviour. While these are distinct cognitive skills, they work in unison to enable successful task completion both at work and in other life aspects.
Overall, the study underscores the need for more research to comprehend how air pollution impacts cognitive functions and to investigate the long-term effects, particularly on vulnerable groups such as children and older adults.
Co-author Professor Gordon McFiggans from the University of Manchester, said: “This study shows the importance of understanding the impacts of air pollution on cognitive function and the need to study the influences of different sources of pollution on brain health in vulnerable older members of society.”
The research marks a milestone as the first to specifically manipulate inhalation routes of particulate matter (PM) air pollution and provides valuable insights into how these various pathways may impact cognitive functions. Researchers highlighted the importance of ongoing research into the long-term effects and possible protective strategies.
Air pollution is recognised globally as the primary environmental threat to human health and is linked to increased rates of premature mortality. The harmful repercussions of subpar air quality on cardiovascular and respiratory systems are established, with potential connections also suggested to neurodegenerative disorders including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
Fine particles known as PM2.5 are particularly notorious for their adverse health implications, with an estimated 4.2 million deaths attributed to this particle size in 2015 alone. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests keeping 24-hour and annual concentration levels below 15 μg/m3 and 5 μg/m3 respectively for optimal health protection.