Association of Long-term Exposure to Air Pollution with Late-Life Depression in Older Adults in the US
Year: 2023
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIM: Emerging evidence has suggested harmful associations of air pollutants with neurodegenerative diseases among older adults. However, little is known about late-life mental outcomes, such as geriatric depression. We aimed to investigate if long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with increased risk of late-life depression diagnosis among US older adults. METHOD: We designed a population-based longitudinal cohort study of US Medicare enrollees 64 yrs. Data were obtained from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chronic Conditions Warehouse. We included participants continuously enrolled in the Fee-for-Service program and both Medicare Part A & B. After 5-year washout period at entry, a total of 8,907,422 unique individuals were covered over 2005-2016, who contributed to 1,526,690 late-onset depression diagnoses. The exposures consisted of residential long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5, ug/m3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2, ppb), and ozone (O3, ppb). Late-life depression diagnoses were identified via information from all available Medicare claims (i.e., hospital inpatient, skilled nursing facility, hospital outpatient, and physician visits). Date of the first occurrence was obtained. Hazard ratios and percentage change in risk were estimated via stratified Cox proportional hazards models accounting for climate co-exposures, neighborhood greenness, socioeconomic conditions, healthcare access, and urbanicity level. RESULTS: A total of 8,907,422 enrollees were included with 56.8% being female and 90.2% being White. Each 5-unit increase in long-term mean exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and O3 was associated with an adjusted percentage increase in depression risk of 0.91% (95%CI, 0.02%-1.81%), 0.61% (95%CI, 0.31%- 0.92%), and 2.13% (95%CI, 1.63%-2.64%), respectively, from tri-pollutant model. Effect heterogeneity was found among subpopulations by comorbidity condition and neighborhood contextual backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Among US older adults, harmful associations were observed between long-term exposure to air pollution and increased risk of late-life depression diagnosis. This study suggests air pollution is a potential risk factor for late-onset depression.
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Institutions: Harvard University, Emory University
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4390994068