PM2.5 Exposure and Cognitive Function with DNA Methylation Data from 1777 Adults

A 2026 study of 1777 middle-aged and older adults from the Guangxi Eco-Environmental Health and Aging Study (GEHAS) examined the link between short-term air pollution and cognitive decline. The dataset includes 3554 observations linking 28-day average PM2.5 exposure to Mini-Mental State Examination scores and DNA methylation data for 552 participants. It was authored by Jiahui Rong and shared on figshare.

Use Cases

• Modeling the association between short-term PM2.5 exposure and cognitive scores based on the reported beta coefficients and confidence intervals.
• Analyzing DNA methylation signatures of circadian rhythm genes in relation to environmental exposure based on the 44 identified CpG sites.
• Conducting subgroup analyses on sex and age differences in pollution effects based on the reported stratified results.
• Investigating mediation effects of specific CpG sites (e.g., cg25579477 in PRKAG2) on cognitive function.

Strengths

• Dataset is derived from a named cohort study (GEHAS) with 3554 observations from 1777 participants.
• Includes specific, quantified findings such as a 0.474-point MMSE reduction per 5 μg/m³ PM2.5 increase.
• Contains DNA methylation data for a subset of 552 participants with 44 identified CpG sites.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the Guangxi-based study.

Provenance

Source

Guangxi Eco-Environmental Health and Aging Study (GEHAS).

Collection Method

Observational cohort study linking environmental exposure data, cognitive assessments, and epigenetic analysis.

Time Range

Temporal coverage of the underlying study is not specified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-14 11:04:11; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Likely Guangxi, China, based on the study name.