Busy road 'dementia' ?? what next..??

jgsi

To fret about in life...?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38506735

I do believe I'm doomed

whatleytom

Hmm, correlation does not imply causation springs to mind.

dhope

To be fair, the article does say that it's just a correlation.

The researchers suggest noise, ultrafine particles, nitrogen oxides and particles from tyre-wear may be involved.
However, the study looks only at where people diagnosed with dementia live. It cannot prove that the roads are causing the disease.

You'll probably find that people that live on busy roads are more likely to smoke too (/insert other socioeconomic factor).

Anyway, I live on the slip road to the Blackwall Tunnel, and given the amount of muck that comes of it and how much more frequently I have to clean then it wouldn't surprise me at all if there is a correlation between inhaling exhaust fumes and a whole range of problems. (/anecdotal evidence)

Mental note: Move house.

perfectmark

To add some anecdotal evidence, my Gran got dementia and spent most of her life (after her kids had left) living on a quiet road near the beach in Eastbourne. People living near busy roads are probably more likely to be stressed and too much stress can be very bad for your health, but I doubt there is any direct causation here.

MrSweary

Commuting in London I'll be surprised if I make it long enough to get dementia.

cookeeemonster

perfectmark wrote:

To add some anecdotal evidence, my Gran got dementia and spent most of her life (after her kids had left) living on a quiet road near the beach in Eastbourne. People living near busy roads are probably more likely to be stressed and too much stress can be very bad for your health, but I doubt there is any direct causation here.

People can smoke like a chimney and live to be a 100. Most others will die of cancer and have terrible lung problems for a large portion of their life...so you can never say 'person x did this and look how healthy they are' because we talking about what happens to a large population, not individuals

thistle_

dhope wrote:

Anyway, I live on the slip road to the Blackwall Tunnel, and given the amount of muck that comes of it and how much more frequently I have to clean then it wouldn't surprise me at all if there is a correlation between inhaling exhaust fumes and a whole range of problems. (/anecdotal evidence)

Cleaning causes dementia. That's my excuse for hoovering once in a blue moon anyway

peat

You'd have to be mental to chose to live next to a busy road, so it's no surprise really.

moarspeed

They probably just looked at X number of dementia sufferers and determined whether they lived next to busy roads.
Statistically speaking don't most people live next to busy roads? Also define "busy".

Statistics are great aren't they?

For example, 5% of road deaths are caused by drink drivers, therefore I determine that sober drivers are more dangerous because they cause 95% of road deaths.

The Rookie

Also it tends to be poorer people (relative to the local community) that live on busy roads, so the causal link its just as likely to be being poor leading to something else in their lifestyle other than the busy road causing it.