# Synergistic effects of neighborhood social stressors and outdoor fine particulate matter air pollution on cognitive decline and incident dementia

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2021 · $82,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Air pollution exposure is an important risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), a common
form of dementia affecting 1 in 10 U.S. adults over age 65. Older adults exposed to high levels of air pollution
are at greater risk of poor cognitive function and decline as well as dementia and dementia-related pathology.
Importantly, outdoor air pollution is ubiquitous and many older adults are exposed to air pollution levels above
the recommended federal standards for healthy air quality. Because air pollution is widespread and plays a key
role in neuro-degeneration, determining its association with dementia, as well as precursors to dementia, has
become a public health priority. Psychosocial stressors in the neighborhood environment may lower the brain’s
threshold for neurotoxicity and increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative effects of pollutant exposure at older
ages. With additional exposure to neighborhood stressors, air pollution could negatively impact cognitive health
even at relatively lower doses than have previously been reported. The proposed study will determine if PM2.5
exposure interacts with disorder and decay, two major neighborhood-based stressors, to impact cognitive decline
and dementia risk among older U.S. adults. This project will use prospective data on adults ages 60 and older
from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS), linked with annual average
concentrations of PM2.5, to examine cognitive decline and onset of cognitive impairment consistent with
dementia over ten years. The primary objective of this two year project is to test the central hypothesis that
exposure to neighborhood stressors exacerbates the adverse effects of air pollution on risk of cognitive decline
and onset of dementia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112793
- **Project number:** 5R03AG061741-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** JENNIFER A AILSHIRE
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $82,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112793

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112793, Synergistic effects of neighborhood social stressors and outdoor fine particulate matter air pollution on cognitive decline and incident dementia (5R03AG061741-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112793. Licensed CC0.

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