The joint research team at Seoul National University Hospital (Professor Park Jin-ho, Professor Jeong Han-young of Neurology), Boramae Hospital (Professor Kwon Hyung-min of Neurology), and the National Cancer Center (Professor Kim Hyun-jin) announced on the 24th that the analysis of the images of 3,257 adults with an average age of 56.5 confirmed this risk of fine dust.
The research team estimated the annual average concentration of fine dust in each residential area and analyzed how the difference in exposure over a year is related to lesions such as "brain white matter degeneration" (WMH), "asymptomatic cerebral infarction," and "brain microbleeding." During the survey period, the average concentration of fine dust in the entire region was 49.1μg.
Brain white matter refers to the part that appears white next to the center of the brain in MRI images, and the damage of small blood vessels spread in this white matter is called brain white matter degeneration. In addition, asymptomatic cerebral infarction refers to a disease caused by clogging small blood vessels in the brain.
All of these diseases appear to be asymptomatic lesions in MRI, but gradually abnormal brain aging can lead to serious diseases such as stroke and dementia.
The research team estimated that whenever the concentration of fine dust increases by 10μg, the area of degeneration of white matter in the brain increases by about 8%. In addition, the risk of asymptomatic cerebral infarction under the same conditions was evaluated to be about 20% higher.
However, in this study, other air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide did not show a clear association with these lesions.
The research team suggested that nanoparticles contained in fine dust may pass through human alveolar barriers or directly affect blood cells, thereby affecting the small blood vessel structure of the cerebrum by activating inflammatory reactions.
Professor Park Jin-ho said, "As brain MRI image analysis of large populations proves that fine dust increases the risk of small vascular diseases in the brain, a lifestyle that minimizes fine dust exposure has become more important," adding, "The government should continue to consider various measures to reduce fine dust.
Writer: Daniel Kim
