The quality of the urban environment influences the risk of early-onset dementia

Urban green spaces, artificial night light and air pollution linked to vehicular traffic influence the risk of early-onset dementia and the evolution of symptoms in already diagnosed patients. This emerges from DOUBTS, a research project coordinated by Politecnico di Milano with University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and University of Pavia. The study uses high-resolution environmental data, including satellite datasets, and advanced statistical models, applied especially to the province of Modena.

The results show that exposure to benzene, an indicator of traffic pollution, is associated with an increased risk of early-onset dementia, particularly for the Alzheimer subtype. At the same time, the presence of high-quality urban green spaces emerges as a protective factor, promoting physical activity and reducing stress. A counterintuitive result shows that very high levels of urban green are associated with an increased risk of apathy in already diagnosed patients, a phenomenon that can favor social isolation, typical of less urbanized contexts.

Artificial night light also has complex effects: while on one hand it may be associated with a higher social life and thus a lower probability of disease onset, on the other hand it can worsen neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients already affected by dementia.