The Impact of Environmental Exposures on Dementia, Physical, Cognitive, and Mental Health of Older Adults

Chair(s)

• 

  Paola Zaninotto, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Professor of Social and Medical Statistics
  Epidemiology and Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom

Discussant(s)

• 

  Matthew Prina, BSc (Hons), MPhil (Cantab), PhD (Cantab)

  Professor of Ageing and Epidemiology
  PHSI
  Newcastle University
  Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Rina So, PhD

  Research fellow
  Department of Epidemiology and Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom
• 

  Giorgio Di Gessa, PhD (he/him/his)

  Lecturer
  Epidemiology and Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom
• 

  Eunyoung Choi, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral Associate
  Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
  University of Southern California
  Los Angeles, California, United States

The proposed symposium will delve into crucial environmental factors affecting physical health, cognitive and mental health, in older populations. The first talk will explore urban environments' impact on cognitive health, highlighting evidence gaps and concentrated areas of existing research, such as air pollution and social environment influences on dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Another presentation will examine the association between long-term air pollution exposure and dementia risk in Denmark, identifying the most vulnerable groups based on socioeconomic status and comorbidities. The third talk will focus on the relationship between air pollution exposure over a decade and cognitive performance in older individuals in England, emphasizing the detrimental effects of industry emissions on cognition. A different study will discuss the findings on outdoor light at night and its lack of association with depressive symptoms in older adults in England. Lastly, the symposium will present research on extreme heat exposure's effects on epigenetic aging and its potential to increase morbidity and mortality risks, underscoring the need for mitigating these biological changes.

Presentations:

• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Urban Environment Exposures and Cognitive Health: An Evidence Gap Map of Systematic Reviews
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Claire L. Cleland, PhD (she/her/hers) – Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Long-Term Exposure to Outdoor Light at Night, Air Pollution, and Depressive Symptoms Among Older People in England
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Rina So, PhD – University College London
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Long-Term Outdoor Air Pollution Concentrations and Cognition: Findings From the HCAP Substudy of ELSA
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Giorgio Di Gessa, PhD (he/him/his) – University College London
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Risk of Dementia Among Older Individuals of a Danish Nationwide Analyses
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Rina So, PhD – University College London
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Extreme Heat Exposure and Epigenetic Aging Acceleration Among Older Adults in the US
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Eunyoung Choi, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Southern California