Outdoor Nighttime Light Exposure Linked to Prevalence of Alzheimer Disease

FRIDAY, Sept. 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Exposure to outdoor nighttime light is associated with the prevalence of Alzheimer disease (AD), especially among those aged younger than 65 years, according to a study published online Sept. 6 in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Robin M. Voigt, Ph.D., from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and colleagues examined the association between outdoor nighttime light exposure and AD prevalence in the United States using data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and satellite-acquired light pollution data.

The researchers observed an association between higher outdoor nighttime light and a higher prevalence of AD. Atrial fibrillation, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and stroke were associated with AD prevalence more strongly than outdoor nighttime light, but a stronger association was seen for nighttime light than for alcohol abuse, chronic kidney disease, depression, heart failure, and obesity. In those younger than 65 years, nighttime light exposure was more strongly associated with AD prevalence than any other disease factor examined.

“Awareness of the association should empower people — particularly those with risk factors for AD — to make easy lifestyle changes,” Voigt said in a statement. “Easy to implement changes include using blackout curtains or sleeping with eye masks. This is useful especially for those living in areas with high light pollution.”

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