Cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease pose major global health threats, with continuously increasing incidence and mortality rates. Although previous studies have disclosed the association between environmental factors and cognitive impairment, determining the causal relationships is challenging due to issues such as confounding factors and reverse causation.
This study intends to employ Mendelian Randomization to explore whether there exist causal relationships between environmental risk factors (such as air pollution, noise exposure, non-optimal temperature, and social events) and the occurrence and development of cognitive impairment and underlying mechanisms. Firstly, we will identify genetic variants associated with environmental factors from relevant genome-wide association studies. Then, we will make use of a vast amount of information on participants, including environmental exposures, questionnaire information, health records, and multi-omics data to better understand the underlying mechanisms. If the genetic variants are associated with both environmental exposure and cognitive impairment, then we can conclude that environmental exposure is a causal risk factor for cognitive impairment.
The primary objective of this study is to clarify the causal relationships between environmental risk factors and the risk of cognitive impairment. Understanding these causal relationships will provide a scientific basis for the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies.
We propose to complete this project in 24 months.
