Polluting Cooking Fuels Linked to Greater Cognitive Decline Risk in Women: IISc Brain Scan Study

New Delhi: A study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has found that women exposed to household air pollution from cooking fuels may be at a higher risk of cognitive impairment compared to men. The findings were published in 'The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia' journal.

The study analysed MRI brain scans of ageing adults from the rural town of Srinivaspura in Karnataka. It was conducted as part of the ongoing Centre for Brain Research Srinivaspura Aging, Neuro Senescence, and COGnition (CBR-SANSCOG) study at IISc. The research team also included scientists from the University of Chicago, US.

More than 4,100 adults aged 45 and above were studied, with MRI scans performed on around 1,000 participants. The researchers found that exposure to air pollution caused by burning solid fuels especially in poorly ventilated spaces can release harmful pollutants such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur oxides, heavy metals, and particulate matter.

These pollutants are known to affect the brain through mechanisms like inflammation and oxidative stress. Cognitive impairment, as explained in the study, can impact memory, speech, and reasoning, and may precede serious neurological conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The authors of the study wrote, “Polluting cooking technology users may be at a higher risk for cognitive impairment. Rural females, who tend to be more exposed than males, could have greater vulnerability to (household air pollution’s) adverse effects on the brain.”

MRI scans showed that women using polluting fuels had lower volumes of the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical for memory and known to be severely affected in Alzheimer’s disease.

“Community-centred interventions to improve health literacy and clean cooking fuel adoption among rural Indians could help reduce the substantial morbidities associated with polluting cooking fuel use, and reduce dementia risk,” the researchers added.

The study also noted, “Policies promoting clean cooking fuel (or) technology adoption are imperative.”

According to the researchers, this is the first study using brain imaging in a rural population to examine how household air pollution can structurally affect the brain.

(With inputs from PTI)