To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of links between (1) air pollution, and (2) dementia and brain ill-health, highlighted in the study on 'Ambient air pollution and the dynamic transitions of stroke and dementia', published in The Lancet in January.
Answered on
22 February 2024
The Government is dedicated to supporting research into dementia and has committed to doubling the funding for dementia research to £160 million per year, by the end of 2024/25.
The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is supporting research in exploring the link between dementia and air pollution. An NIHR funded study identified that exposure to air pollution is associated with increased use of psychiatric services in people with dementia. The NIHR are undertaking a project to address how air pollution mitigation measures impact on neurological endpoints.