4,068 posters, 219 videos, 101 topics, 69 sessions, 14,365 authors, 6,128 institutions

Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2026

July 12-15, 2026 | London, United Kingdom, and Online

4345

Long-term Exposure To Ultrafine Particulate Matter From Wildfires And Late-life Cognitive Decline In The Khandle And Star Cohorts

View Poster Contact Presenter

Poster Presenter

Amanda Goodrich

Authors

Amanda J Goodrich, Ai-Lin Tsai, Stacey E Alexeeff, Paola Gilsanz, Michael Kleeman, Rachel Whitmer, Kathryn C Conlon

Affiliations

Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Pleasanton, CA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California Davis, CA.

Part of Topic

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Long term exposure to ultrafine PM from WUI fires associated with decreased verbal episodic memory and executive function

Background

- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a well-established risk factor for dementia

- The role of ultrafine PM (PM0.1) remainsunderstudied especially in diverse populations

- PM0.1 penetrates deeply into the body due to its small size and can cross the blood brain barrier

- Wildfires (WF) are growing in frequency and severity, particularly in the expanding wildland urban interface (WUI)

Methods

Study population:

- KHANDLE: 1,555 ethnically diverse adults aged ≥65 yrs

- STAR: 737 African Americans ≥50 yrs

Cognitive outcomes:

- Annual cognitive change assessed across two domains: verbal episodic memory, executive function

- Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (SENAS; Z-scored)

Exposure assessment:

- PM0.1 from biomass combustion and WUI sources estimated using a chemical transport model at 1 km

- Linked to residential address

- Averaged over 10 years

Statistical analysis:

- Linear mixed effects regression with interaction for time; modeled separately by cohort, and meta-analyzed

- Minimally Adjusted models include:age, gender, background PM2.5, NO2, O3, practice effects and interview mode (in person or telephone)

- Fully Adjusted models further include:marital status, education, neighborhood income

Results

STAR

- An SD increase in 10-year average WUI-derived PM0.1 was associated with an annual decline in verbal episodic memory of 0.06 SD units (-0.10 to -0.01).

KHANDLE

- An SD increase in 10-year average WUI-derived PM0.1 was associated with an annual decline in verbal episodic memory of 0.01 SD units (-0.02 to -0.001)

- An SD increase in 10-year average WUI-derived PM0.1 was associated with an annual decline in executive function of0.01 SD units (-0.02 to -0.001)

Pooled

- An SD increase in 10-year average WUI-derived PM0.1 was associated with an annual decline in executive function of0.01 SD units (-0.01 to -0.001)

Discussion

- Long-term WUI PM0.1 exposure was associated with faster decline in verbal episodic memory and executive function

- Long-term Biomass combustion PM0.1exposure was not associated with cognitive change

Comments

Email is required but is not shown publicly.

Sort comments

Loading comments...