Climate Change, the Exposome and the Rising Burden of Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Review

Dynamic shifts in global temperatures have increased the intensity of extreme weather events over many decades, leading to an increase in wildfires, drought, floods, intense hurricanes, longer hurricane seasons, damaging dust storms, humidity changes, decreasing foliage canopy, and altering crop patterns. Accelerated environmental changes can cause negative impacts on everyday human activities and living conditions leading to an increase in the likelihood of human exposure to anthropogenic chemicals: i.e., microplastics; insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides; and biological chemicals: i.e., algal toxins, these exposures are defined collectively as the “exposome”. Every human being is unique in their genetic makeup; therefore, individuals will respond differently to those chemical exposures. Intersecting with climate change is a global increase in neurodegenerative disorders. Exposure to specific compounds has been linked to various neurological diseases, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.