Molecular basis of complex relationships between climate change, sleep disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Abstract The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that between 2030 and 2050, diseases that are susceptible to climate change will cause a quarter-million deaths. The relationships between sleep, climate change, and neurodegenerative disorders are complex. The review delivers a narrative synthesis of the molecular basis of these associations. We utilized a search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and Core library databases. We searched from inception to September 2024, combining Boolean operators (AND, OR) important MeSH and free keywords across all databases. The studies revealed that environmentally increasing temperatures have adverse effects on circadian rhythms or sleep cycles, which creates a protein imbalance that promotes the development of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) or other forms of neurodegenerative diseases. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are often released in response to environmental change or stress, and they serve as mediators to induce abnormal protein misfolds, which are seen in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. However, there is a need for more longitudinal human data to explain causal pathways for air pollutants, sleep disruptions, and AD.