Air pollution may lead to premature heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular mortality
A study of young, non-smoking adults found that those who were exposed to fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, had blood vessel damage and inflammation that could increase cardiovascular disease risk and lead to premature cardiovascular mortality.
Lead researcher C. Arden Pope III, PhD, of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and colleagues published their results online Oct. 25 in Circulation Research.
The 72 participants were young adults who did not smoke and were not exposed to secondhand smoke at home, work or school. The mean age was 23 years old, and most of the participants were white males.
The researchers collected blood from each of the participants under various conditions, including at elevated PM2.5 levels. They found that PM2.5 concentrations were significantly associated with elevated endothelial microparticles and an inflammatory, anti-angiogenic blood profile associated with selective increases in T lymphocytes.
“These findings suggest that living in a polluted environment could promote the development of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke more pervasively and at an earlier stage than previously thought,” Aruni Bhatnagar, PhD, one of the study’s authors and a professor at the University of Louisville, said in a news release. “Although we have known for some time that air pollution can trigger heart attacks or strokes in susceptible, high-risk individuals, the finding that it could also affect even seemingly healthy individuals suggests that increased levels of air pollution are of concern to all of us, not just the sick or the elderly.”
The researchers mentioned a few limitations of the study, including that they could only control the timing of the blood draws. They also noted that no substantive pollution episode occurred during the third year of the study.
“These results substantially expand our understanding about how air pollution contributes to cardiovascular disease by showing that exposure is associated with a cascade of adverse effects,” Pope said in a news release.
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.