For the past several decades, studies have continued to shown air pollution to cause several respiratory ailments. However, a recent study shows that smog and fumes can also cause heart disease. Even worse, it was linked to several deaths to air pollution.
The study, headed by students and faculty of UC Berkeley, involved several California adults and three types of air pollutants. These included fine particles such as those that are commonly found in smoke from automobiles and factory haze, greenhouse gas (ozone), and the notoriously dangerous nitrogen dioxide. In many studies, an abundance of nitrogen dioxide usually signifies a heavily polluted atmosphere.
Funded by the California Air Resources Board, the research found out that there is a correlation between the amount of exposure to pollution in the air and the likeliness of a heart disease and ultimately, death due to cardiovascular complications. An estimated 73,700 residents in California were analysed for the report which concluded with a groundbreaking discovery. Since 1982, these three types of pollutants were directly involved in the deaths of residents due to heart disease. The worst offender? Ozone.
Some common heart problems include cardiovascular conditions, rhythmic disturbances, and congenital heart diseases. The first one, according to Aviva, is the most common cause of deaths in the United Kingdom. Smoking, which is also the number one culprit of lung diseases, is a big factor when calculating risk of heart diseases, said Dr. Mike Knapton, director of the British Heart Foundation. Read more about these medical facts, insurance guides, and other health related resources at http://www.Aviva.co.uk.
As mentioned in the study’s conclusive statement, “using the first individualized exposure assignments in this important cohort, we found positive associations of fine particulate matter, O3 (ozone), and NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) with mortality. The positive associations of NO2 suggest that traffic pollution relates to premature death.” This study was published as part of this month’s issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.