Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) generated when cooking meat and other foods at home may affect brain health, including memory decline, according to experimental findings. Researchers say the study shows that indoor air pollution can adversely affect not only the respiratory system but also cognitive function.
According to the National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday, researchers analyzed the effects of fine particulate matter generated during indoor cooking on the brain using transgenic mice, an animal model for Alzheimer's disease. The experiment used fine particulate matter released during the pork cooking process, with the animal models exposed to inhalation for four hours a day, five times a week, over four weeks.
The study found changes in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, in the animal models exposed to fine particulate matter. Spatial memory and the ability to recognize environmental changes also declined, and the indicator (DI) measuring this decreased by more than 30 percent in the exposed group.
The expression of proteins involved in memory formation and connections between neurons was also found to have decreased. Researchers explained that this also led to a pattern in which the signal transmission system between cells did not function normally. The National Institute of Health assessed that the findings experimentally suggest the possibility that indoor environmental factors may influence the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
"Modern people spend more than 90 percent of their day indoors, and the concentration of fine particulate matter generated during cooking can be tens of times higher than outdoor air," said Kim Young-yul, head of the Division of Allergy and Respiratory Diseases Research at the National Institute of Health and the lead researcher. "Reducing fine particulate matter through measures such as improving indoor air quality and strengthening ventilation during cooking could be a potential prevention strategy to lower the risk of degenerative brain diseases such as dementia."
However, the researchers added that since these findings are based on experiments using animal models, the actual effects on the human body need to be verified through additional epidemiological research. The study results were published last month in the online edition of "Indoor Air," an international academic journal in the field of indoor environment and health.
