# Interactive effects of physical activity and neighborhood air pollution on risk of incident Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

> **NIH NIH R03** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2021 · $119,949

## Abstract

Project summary
Physical activity is an important protective factor against dementia, a condition increasingly affecting older
adults worldwide. Currently, only 26% of men and 19% of women in the U.S. are sufficiently active. Public
health initiatives aimed at encouraging physical activity have the potential of decreasing population-level
dementia risk and related social costs. However, cumulating evidence is highly suggestive that exposure to
high levels of air pollution is associated with a greater risk of dementia. Given these countervailing effects, the
neuroprotective benefits induced by physical activity could be inhibited if people exercise in polluted air. The
lack of knowledge on the interactive effects of physical activity and air pollution prevents the formulation of
most effective dementia prevention strategies. This proposed study aims to determine if physical activity
interacts with neighborhood air pollution to impact dementia risk. In addition, we will examine if certain types of
air pollutants have a greater moderating effect on the relationship between certain types of physical activity
and risk of dementia subtypes. This project will use a large, population-based dataset on adults ages between
40 and 69 years from UK Biobank to longitudinally examine the independent and interactive effects of physical
activity and air pollution on incident dementia over ten years. The primary objective of this two year project is to
test the central hypothesis that exposure to neighborhood air pollution inhibits the protective effects of physical
activity on risk of incident dementia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10816897
- **Project number:** 7R03AG072023-02
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Wei Xu
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $119,949
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2021-04-15 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10816897

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10816897, Interactive effects of physical activity and neighborhood air pollution on risk of incident Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (7R03AG072023-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10816897. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*