They found that excessive exposure to city street lights and neon signs can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at Rush University in Chicago studied light pollution in 48 US states and divided them into five groups based on brightness intensity. The data were compared with the medical records of people in these countries, looking at known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, such as high blood pressure and obesity.
The analysis showed that more intense outdoor nighttime lighting was associated with a higher prevalence of the disease. In people aged 65 and older, bright lights affected the development of the condition more than some other risk factors, such as excessive alcohol consumption, depression and obesity.
Bright lights are not friendly to young people in the long run either. The number of cases of Alzheimer’s disease is higher among those under the age of 65 living in brightly lit environments than elsewhere. This could indicate that younger people may be particularly sensitive to the effects of light at night, the journal said Frontiers in Neuroscience in the published report.
Source: www.diena.lv
