World Brain Day is held on July 22 every year by the World Federation of Neurology since 2014. It is dedicated to a different neurological disease or topic every year. The World Federation of Neurology was founded on July 22, 1957 in Brussels. For 2018, the WFN has decided to devote World Brain Day to the subject of ” Clean Air for Brain Health”

The topic is most timely. The latest estimation of deaths attributable to air pollution worldwide is 12 million deaths annually. In particular, the suspected impact of air pollution on the brain is an emerging and worrisome issue, with more and more data showing that it may be a more important risk factor for stroke than previously thought.

Recently the Global Burden of Disease study has investigated data from 1990 to 2013 in 188 countries. It demonstrates that air pollution contributes to up to 30 percent of the global stroke burden. The list of possible air pollution and environmental pollution adverse effects is increasing. Neuro-developmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, possibly also neuroinflammatory diseases are discussed among others as having a potential association with polluted air.

Prevention of brain health is not an individual concern but must be considered at the societal level. WFN Secretary General Prof Wolfgang Grisold says: ” Air Pollution is a potentially modifiable risk factor for some cerebrovascular and neurogenerative diseases.” This enlarging worldwide public health problem requires environmental health policies to be able to reduce air pollution to protect nrain health and not only lungs.