# Worldwide Mapping of Air Pollution Exposure Patterns on Aging Brain Health

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2022 · $662,575

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Exposure to outdoor air pollution (AP) is a risk factor for “accelerated” aging and Alzheimer’s disease, but very
few studies have used neuroimaging to define the mechanistic underpinnings of these relationships. Existing
studies are further limited by the confluence of biopsychosocial factors that have been shown to modify systemic
health consequences of air pollution but have not been modeled in studies of the brain. Finally, the lack of
geospatial diversity in existing studies of air pollution and aging brain health raises numerous questions about
the generalizability of existing neuroimaging findings that predominantly come from high-income countries with
“low” annual levels of exposure. This proposal is designed to address these challenges and limitations through
a new environmental working group within the ENIGMA consortium – ENIGMA-Environment – consisting of 46
individual cohorts from 21 countries. In this proposal we leverage unprecedented geospatial diversity to 1.
Identify and characterize adverse effects of NO2, PM2.5 mass, and PM2.5 components on structural and
diffusion MRI metrics in older adults, 2) Define and explain interactions between NO2, PM2.5, and BPS factors
that underlie neurodegeneration in older adults, and 3) Determine the impact of NO2 and PM2.5 on gray and
white matter trajectories across the lifespan. Outcomes will provide the first translatable model of AP
neurotoxicity in the context of BPS variables, providing a transformative framework for enhanced
detection of individuals at risk for “accelerated” brain aging and AD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10412874
- **Project number:** 1R01ES033961-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren E. Salminen
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $662,575
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-06 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10412874

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10412874, Worldwide Mapping of Air Pollution Exposure Patterns on Aging Brain Health (1R01ES033961-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10412874. Licensed CC0.

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