Epidemiology

A wildfire spreading down a mountain.

Air Pollution Risks: Exploring Links Between Wildfires, Farming, and Increased Dementia Cases

Increasingly, evidence shows exposure to air pollution makes the brain susceptible to dementia.

No amount of air pollution is good for the brain, but wildfires and the emissions resulting from agriculture and farming in particular may pose especially toxic threats to cognitive health, according to new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

An illustration of a brain. Image by Justine Ross and Jacob Dwyer, Michigan Medicine.

Majority of older adults with cognitive impairment still drive

Researchers highlight the importance of caregivers having conversations with care recipients and health care professionals about driving

The majority of older adults with cognitive impairment are still driving, despite concerns raised by caregivers and others, a Michigan Medicine study in a South Texas community finds.

A woman holds her head while sitting in a bedroom.

Exclusion of Black and Hispanic women from health studies masked racial disparities on menopausal aging

New research from Michigan Public Health

New research led by University of Michigan School of Public Health reveals that participant selection bias in women's health studies may obscure earlier onset menopause among Black and Hispanic women. The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, highlights the failure to consider weathering—a framework that recognizes the impact of chronic stress and social influences on oppressed populations—as a factor.