Table 2 Summary of the epidemiological studies on the association between PM and cognitive decline

PM2.5

438

Male 198 (45.2%);

Female 240 (54.8%)

Spain

Around 15 months (range 13–18 months)

Bayley scales of infant development

Mental scores and motor scores

Motor development impairment

[39]

PM2.5

1439

Male 743 (51.6%); Female 696 (48.4%)

Spain

11.4 ± 0.6 years (age at the last follow-up)

N-back test

Working memory

Wording memory developmental impairment

[40]

PM2.5

1109

Male 554 (50%);

Female 555 (50%)

America

8.0 years

Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test; Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities;

Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning

Verbal IQ, Nonverbal IQ, Visual motor, Design memory, Picture memory

None

[41]

PM2.5

1119

Male (50%); Female (50%)

Spain

4–6 years

McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities

Verbal, Perceptive-Manipulative, Numeric, General cognitive, Memory and Motor

Memory and verbal impairment in boys, not in girls

[42]

PM2.5

780

Male (39%)、Female (61%)

America

55–64 years: (49%)

65–74 years: (25%)

75–84 years: (19%)

85 + years: (7%)

the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire

Cognitive function was assessed with a serial 3’s subtraction test to measure working memory and recall of the date, day of the week, and name of the president and vice-president to measure orientation

Impairment

[46]

PM2.5

13,996

Male (43.92%)、Female (56.08%)

America

64.0 ± 10.4 years (range 50–102 years)

Health and Retirement Study

Episodic memory score; Mental status score

Impairment

[44]

PM2.5

1496

Male 308 (20.6);

Female 1188 (79.4%)

America

60.5 ± 8.1 years

California Verbal Learning Test, immediate recall and delayed recall

Verbal learning

Impairment

[45]

PM2.5 and PM10

5330

Male 1751 (32.9%);

Female 3579 (67.1%)

America

75.2 ± 6.46 years

Neuropsychological test: Selective Reminding Test; (Color Trails 2-Color Trails 1), Controlled Oral World Association Test; Identities and Oddities; similarities subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; Boston Naming Test [15-item], Animal Naming

Global cognition score; memory; executive function; language

Impairment

[48]

PM2.5

998

Female

America

73–87 years

California Verbal Learning Test

Episodic memory

Impairment

[47]

PM2.5

2050

Male 1007 (49.1%),Female 1043 (50.9%)

Germany

64.1 ± 7.7 years

Cognitive performance assessment

Immediate and delayed verbal memory, problem solving/speed of processing, verbal fluency and abstraction/visual–spatial organization

Impairment

[49]

PM2.5

13,324

Male 6,334 (47.5%); Female 6,990 (52.5%)

China

82.4 ± 11.9 years

MMSE

Orientation, registration, attention, memory, language, and visual construction skills

Impairment

[50]

PM2.5

2253

Female:1430 (63.5%)

Sweden

72.1 ± 9.9 years

MMSE

The speed of cognitive decline

accelerated cognitive decline

[112]

PM2.5 and PM10

7311

Male: 3680 (51.3); Female: 3631 (49.7)

China (rural area)

68.6 ± 6.9 years

Chinese version of MMSE

Orientation function, memory, attention/concentration function, language function, and visuospatial function

Impairment

[113]