Health equity
Is air pollution harder on older women’s cognition than men’s?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
In 1,484 Koreans aged ≥55, higher PM10 and coarse PM were linked to worse MMSE more in women than men; NO2 harm was also larger in women, especially outside metros.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — Cross-sectional Korean elderly sample relating 5-year PM10/NO2 and 2015 PM2.5 to MMSE, with gender and metropolitan-status modification.
- N
- N=1484 · 1,484 adults ≥55 without neurologic disease (569 men, 915 women) from Seoul, Incheon, Pyeongchang, and Wonju.
- Population
- Community-dwelling older adults in four Korean regions, free of neurologic disease.
- Outcome
- Cognitive decline defined by MMSE with conventional 23–24 cut-off, and continuous MMSE, by pollutant and gender.
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
Women had higher mean PM10 (46.56 vs 45.09 μg/m³) and more cognitive impairment (10.27% vs 5.62%). Adjusted ORs for women vs men were 1.01 per PM10 and 1.03 per PM2.5–10. NO2 ORs were 1.02 in metros and 1.12 in non-metros.
Methodology
Recruited 1,484 people ≥55 without neurologic disease from four regions, scored MMSE, assigned 5-year predicted PM10 and NO2 plus 2015 PM2.5, and modelled gender modification with penalized logistic, negative binomial, and mixed models.
Limitations
A cross-section cannot prove pollution caused the MMSE gap; exposure models and a 23–24 MMSE cut-off are coarse, and authors called the gender finding tentative.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Outdoor PM and NO2 linked to worse cognition more strongly in older Korean women than men.
In 1,484 Koreans aged ≥55, women had more cognitive impairment (10.27% vs 5.62%). Adjusted ORs for women vs men were 1.01 per PM10 and 1.03 per coarse PM; NO2 ORs were 1.02 in metros and 1.12 outside metros.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
eHealth usage among Internet users, a homeless–housed disease cliff, US diet-quality geography, and Korean PM×gender MMSE are related equity problems with different exposures and endpoints.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
eHealth usage among Internet users, a homeless–housed disease cliff, US diet-quality geography, and Korean PM×gender MMSE are related equity problems with different exposures and endpoints.
History
When this study was placed
Dated entries from the concept change log — when this paper was added or removed as support, challenge, or qualifier on a claim.
Placed as supporting evidence on Health Equity
In 1,484 Koreans aged ≥55, women had more cognitive impairment (10.27% vs 5.62%). Adjusted ORs for women vs men were 1.01 per PM10 and 1.03 per coarse PM; NO2 ORs were 1.02 in metros and 1.12 outside metros.
Placed as supporting evidence on Health Equity
eHealth usage among Internet users, a homeless–housed disease cliff, US diet-quality geography, and Korean PM×gender MMSE are related equity problems with different exposures and endpoints.
Related papers in this topic
Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.