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The Hindu
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Polluting cooking fuel users may be at a higher risk of cognitive impairment finds study in Karnataka
A recent study published in The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia has found that polluting cooking fuel users may be at a higher risk for cognitive impairment. Highlighting the need for policies promoting the adoption of clean cooking fuel/technology, the study found that rural females, who tend to be more exposed than males, could have greater vulnerability to household air pollution's (HAP) adverse effects on the brain. A team of researchers from the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and University of Chicago, United States, used baseline data from participants of the ongoing prospective cohort study, Centre for Brain Research - Srinivaspura Aging, Neuro Senescence, and COGnition (CBR-SANSCOG). Data was collected between January 2018 and December 2023. Under the CBR-SANSCOG cohort, adults aged over 45 years from the villages of Srinivaspura taluk in Kolar district of Karnataka were recruited. Of the sample size of 4,145 adults, as many as 994 participants who passed the MRI quality control were included in the MRI analysis. Household air pollution HAP is a specific type of indoor air pollution, which primarily results from the use of polluting cooking technology - coal stoves, biomass stoves, chullahs (earthen stoves) and polluting fuels such as firewood, cow dung cake, coal, lignite or charcoal, and kerosene, in and around the house, leading to the production of gaseous toxins. While HAP from polluting cooking fuels, a rampant issue in rural India, is suspected to be a significant modifiable risk factor for cognitive impairment, evidence supported by neuroimaging in this population was lacking. 'Our study aimed to explore the relationship between polluting cooking technology, as a proxy for HAP, and cognitive performance, and brain morphology in the Srinivaspura cohort. We hypothesised that HAP exposure is associated with poorer cognitive performance and adverse brain morphology in this population. We also examined how factors such as age and sex affected this association and complemented our findings with insights from structural brain MRI,' one of the authors from the CBR team told The Hindu. Cognitive functions According to the study, only polluting cooking technology users had significantly lower scores in global cognition, visuospatial ability and executive functions, whereas at least one polluting cooking technology user had lower scores in global cognition only, compared to the clean cooking technology users. 'This study noted significantly poorer performance in global and domain-specific cognitive functions among polluting cooking technology users. Moreover, polluting cooking technology use was significantly associated with lower hippocampus volumes in females, the region which is primarily implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology,' the CBR team said. 'When solid fuels are burned indoors for cooking, especially in poorly ventilated spaces, air pollutants like oxides of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and suspended particulate matter are released. These pollutants have been implicated in adversely affecting brain health via different mechanisms. The primary mechanisms may be related to inflammation and oxidative stress, wherein ultrafine air pollutants affect the brain directly by entering the brain through the olfactory bulb or by crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB),' the study noted. The impact of household air pollution on health According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.2 million premature deaths occurred worldwide from illnesses attributed to HAP as of 2020. These include ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic pulmonary conditions. In India, as of 2019, 0.81 million deaths were attributed to HAP. The 2019–21 National Family Health Survey-5 reported that 41.4% of households in India lacked access to clean cooking fuels. This disparity was more pronounced in rural areas, wherein 56.8% of households utilised polluting cooking fuels, compared to 10.3% in urban areas. In Karnataka, 30.7% of rural households relied on unclean cooking fuel in 2019–20. A 2017 nationwide study found that deaths and DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) due to HAP in Karnataka were significantly higher than those caused by ambient particulate matter pollution, contrasting with the trends in most other States. Modifiable risk factor While a large body of evidence exists documenting the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular and pulmonary health, its impact on cognition and brain health is only recently being explored. Besides the well-recognised risk factors for cognitive impairment, such as age, genetic predisposition, and cardiovascular diseases, increasing evidence suggests that air pollution is a modifiable risk factor. 'Our study echoes the findings from a harmonised analysis of ageing studies across India, China and Mexico that revealed poorer cognitive function among polluting cooking fuel users. It is among the first few studies to produce findings specific to a rural Indian setting. Recent findings from cross-sectional data of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) showed that HAP was negatively associated with cognitive functioning among rural residents, particularly in older rural women. Another study among rural adults in South India found a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment among polluting cooking fuel users,' the study added.
Economic Times
30-06-2025
- Health
- Economic Times
Women face higher risk of cognitive decline from polluting cooking fuels: IISc brain scan study
Representative image Women exposed to household air pollution from cooking fuels may be at a higher risk of cognitive impairment than men, a study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has found. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal, analysed MRI brain scans of ageing adults in the rural town of Srinivaspura in Karnataka, revealing that women might be at a higher risk of experiencing adverse effects in the brain. A team, which also included researchers from the University of Chicago, US, explained that burning solid fuels for cooking, especially in poorly ventilated spaces, can release air pollutants, such as oxides of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and heavy metals, along with suspended particulate pollutants have been shown to affect the brain through varied mechanisms, primary ones being inflammation and oxidative stress, they researchers analysed more than 4,100 adults aged 45 and above, who are participants of the ongoing Centre for Brain Research-Srinivaspura Aging, Neuro Senescence, and COGnition (CBR-SANSCOG) study at IISc. MRI brain scans were taken for around a thousand of these participants. Cognitive impairment, they explained, affects memory, reasoning, and speech. It may precede conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease -- in which the affected person faces trouble performing daily routine study's authors 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." Given the increasing burden of dementia -- an ageing-related disorder -- in India, the findings have significant implications for public health, providing insights on how household air pollution can influence dementia risk, the team said."Policies promoting clean cooking fuel (or) technology adoption are imperative," they added that the findings support those from previous studies which showed a lowered cognition and ability to process visual information in space among people using polluting cooking upon analysing the MRI brain scans of women, the team found lower volumes of hippocampus -- a brain region critical for memory and known to be significantly impacted in Alzheimer's the study broadens the understanding of how pollution-causing cooking fuel is related with poor cognition, the authors said."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," they said. The study is the only one to employ brain scanning techniques in a rural population to examine how household air pollution can adversely impact the brain structurally, the authors said.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Women face higher risk of cognitive decline from polluting cooking fuels: IISc brain scan study
A study by the Indian Institute of Science reveals a concerning link. Women using polluting cooking fuels face higher cognitive impairment risk. MRI scans show lower hippocampus volumes in affected women. This brain region is vital for memory. Researchers urge clean cooking fuel adoption. They emphasize community interventions for health literacy. This can reduce dementia risk in rural India. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Women exposed to household air pollution from cooking fuels may be at a higher risk of cognitive impairment than men, a study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has study, published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal, analysed MRI brain scans of ageing adults in the rural town of Srinivaspura in Karnataka, revealing that women might be at a higher risk of experiencing adverse effects in the brain.A team, which also included researchers from the University of Chicago, US, explained that burning solid fuels for cooking, especially in poorly ventilated spaces, can release air pollutants, such as oxides of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and heavy metals, along with suspended particulate pollutants have been shown to affect the brain through varied mechanisms, primary ones being inflammation and oxidative stress, they researchers analysed more than 4,100 adults aged 45 and above, who are participants of the ongoing Centre for Brain Research-Srinivaspura Aging, Neuro Senescence, and COGnition (CBR-SANSCOG) study at IISc. MRI brain scans were taken for around a thousand of these impairment, they explained, affects memory, reasoning, and speech. It may precede conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease -- in which the affected person faces trouble performing daily routine study's authors 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."Given the increasing burden of dementia -- an ageing-related disorder -- in India, the findings have significant implications for public health, providing insights on how household air pollution can influence dementia risk, the team said."Policies promoting clean cooking fuel (or) technology adoption are imperative," they added that the findings support those from previous studies which showed a lowered cognition and ability to process visual information in space among people using polluting cooking upon analysing the MRI brain scans of women, the team found lower volumes of hippocampus -- a brain region critical for memory and known to be significantly impacted in Alzheimer's the study broadens the understanding of how pollution-causing cooking fuel is related with poor cognition, the authors said."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," they study is the only one to employ brain scanning techniques in a rural population to examine how household air pollution can adversely impact the brain structurally, the authors said.
