ABSTRACT

Growing evidence indicates that air pollution can negatively impact cognitive functions. The olfactory system is interesting in this context as it is directly exposed to pollutants and also associated with cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate long- and short-term PM_2.5 exposure in association with olfactory functions. Scores from odor tests were obtained from the Betula project – a longitudinal cohort study. Estimates of annual mean PM_2.5 concentrations at the participants’ residential address were obtained from a dispersion-model. Daily mean PM_2.5 concentrations were obtained from a measuring station close to the test location. We found a positive association between long-term PM_2.5 exposure and odor identification, i.e. exposure was associated with a better ability to identify odors. We also found an interaction effect between PM_2.5 and age on odor identification. We found no associations between any PM_2.5 exposure and odor detection or between short-term PM_2.5 exposure and olfactory functions.

摘要

越来越多的证据表明，空气污染会对认知功能产生负面影响。嗅觉系统在这种情况下很有趣，因为它直接暴露于污染物并且还与认知功能相关。本研究的目的是调查与嗅觉功能相关的长期和短期 PM _2.5暴露。气味测试的分数来自 Betula 项目——一项纵向队列研究。参与者居住地址的年平均 PM _{2.5浓度估计值来自分散模型。}每日平均 PM _2.5浓度是从靠近测试地点的测量站获得的。我们发现长期 PM _{2.5之间存在}正相关关系暴露和气味识别，即暴露与更好的气味识别能力相关。我们还发现 PM _2.5和年龄对气味识别的交互作用。我们发现任何 PM _2.5暴露与气味检测之间或短期 PM _2.5暴露与嗅觉功能之间没有关联。