Associations of plasma persistent organic pollutants with brain atrophy, cognitive decline and risk of dementia in older adults.

Background: Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides, are established neurotoxicants in experimental models; yet it remains uncertain whether exposures in the general population increase the risk to develop brain aging pathologies. We assessed the prospective associations of plasma POP concentrations with three dementia-related outcomes in a population-based cohort of older adults.

Methods: Analyses included 515 participants from the Three-City Study, free of dementia at baseline at the time of blood measurements (1999-2000, mean age 72.