According to the BBC, scientists in Canada have spent 11 years tracking people, their movements and dementia rates. Early results are suggesting that up to 11% of all dementia cases are found in people living within 50m of a main road. This comes at a time when other scientists have found higher than usual amounts of magnetite, one of many elements released into the atmosphere by cars and factories, in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Living so close to a main road or in a city in general has long been linked to lung disease, but these results, if born out in larger studies, suggest there could be larger issues. It is worth noting that lifestyle choices and just living longer than ever before could also be reasons for the growing number of people with dementia in the world. You can read more about a possible link between dementia and air pollution here.