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> We invite anyone disparaging the environment of (and hence the honey we produce in) the City to "put up or shut up".
A ten minute search of the literature produced ample evidence linking the urban environment with health issues, including cognitive impairment on older adults:
The population of older adults living in large metropolitan areas is growing rapidly . Although air pollution levels have declined in recent years , older residents of many US cities continue to breathe air that is harmful to their health. In 2013, the EPA lowered the air quality standard for PM2.5 from 15 to 12 μ g/m3 . Our study found that exposure to PM2.5 concentrations below 15 μ g/m3 was associated with worse cognition in older adults. Efforts to further reduce PM2.5 concentrations in accordance with the recent EPA standard may have beneficial consequences for the cognitive health of the aging US population.
Existing research on the adverse health effects of exposure to pollution has devoted relatively little attention to the potential impact of ambient air pollution on cognitive function in older adults. We examined the cross-sectional association between residential concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) and cognitive function in older adults.
Older adults living in areas with higher PM2.5 concentrations had worse cognitive function even after adjustment for community- and individual-level social and economic characteristics. Results suggest that the association is strongest for the episodic memory component of cognitive function. This study adds to a growing body of research highlighting the importance of air pollution to cognitive function in older adults. Improving air quality in large metropolitan areas, where much of the aging US population resides, may be an important mechanism for reducing age-related cognitive decline.
Ailshire, J. A., & Crimmins, E. M. (2014). Fine particulate matter air pollution and cognitive function among older US adults. American journal of epidemiology
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