this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2024
27 points (100.0% liked)

Health - Resources and discussion for everything health-related

2195 readers
133 users here now

Health: physical and mental, individual and public.

Discussions, issues, resources, news, everything.

See the pinned post for a long list of other communities dedicated to health or specific diagnoses. The list is continuously updated.

Nothing here shall be taken as medical or any other kind of professional advice.

Commercial advertising is considered spam and not allowed. If you're not sure, contact mods to ask beforehand.

Linked videos without original description context by OP to initiate healthy, constructive discussions will be removed.

Regular rules of lemmy.world apply. Be civil.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

New research claims that exposure to outdoor light at night may increase the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, especially in people under the age of 65.

The researchers who conducted the study, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant and published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience on Friday, said they have found correlations between areas of the US with excessive exposure to artificial light at night and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease.

In the US, at least 19 states have legislation in place aimed at reducing light pollution, but the authors of the study say that despite this, the “levels of light at night remain high in many parts of the country”.

top 2 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Proximity to light most likely means proximity to society and all the byproducts of civilization. If it turns out lights at night cause alzheimers I'd be stunned.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

Poor sleep consistency/quality and interrupted circadian rhythms have already been found to be associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's, so artificial light could definitely be contributing to a previously identified risk factor. I am sure there are other variables at play that are associated with light sources, too, but it is definitely possible/even likely that the light itself is an issue.