Salt Lake's rising air pollution threat: Wildfire smoke and dementia

State of play: Wildfire smoke in Salt Lake City has worsened exponentially, with the average number of heavy smoke days from 2017-2021 almost eight times higher than from 2011-2016, per a 2023 analysis of the economic impact of wildfires.

What they did: The study, published in November by the journal JAMA Neurology, analyzed health care records of 1.2 million Southern California residents between 2008 and 2019, then estimated their exposure to wildfire smoke as a three-year rolling average.

• People included in the study were over 60 and hadn't been diagnosed with dementia at the start of the study period.

What they found: Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke was associated with significantly higher odds that a person would be diagnosed with dementia.

• The risk was far greater than the risk associated with other types of fine particle air pollution, the authors found.

What they're saying: "It's actually a few really severe wildfire smoke days that might translate into increased risk," Joan Casey, one of the study's authors, said in a news release.

Reality check: Southern California sees far worse wildfire smoke than Salt Lake generally does, with particulate matter in Los Angeles reaching "unhealthy" levels more than 20 days since 2019 and "very unhealthy" levels at least three times.

• Salt Lake reached "unhealthy" pollution fewer than 10 days in that time, and "very unhealthy" just once.

The big picture: Casey said the study's findings highlight the need for "a global solution to climate change," which she described as "the main culprit" behind worsening air quality in recent years.

Read more: Salt Lake's air quality is degrading