Pollution Adds to Heart Risk in the Elderly

A new study shows that short-term exposure to fine-particle air pollution emissions significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among people over 65 years of age.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, MD, USA) conducted a fine-particle analysis on 11.5 million people over 65 who lived in 204 U.S. counties. Using billing records for 1999-2002, they tracked daily counts of hospital admissions for a range of medical conditions. They then obtained daily measurements of fine particle concentrations from a network of air monitoring stations.

The study results showed that small increases in fine-particle air pollution from such sources as motor vehicle exhaust and power plant emissions resulted in increased hospital admissions for heart and vascular disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infection. The study results were published in the March 8, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

When we analyzed the data for heart failure, we observed a 1.28% increase in admissions for each 10 mg per cubic meter increase in fine-particle pollution, said Francesca Dominici, Ph.D., an associate professor of biostatistics at Johns Hopkins and lead author of the study. Most of these admissions increases occurred the same day as the rise in fine-particle concentration, which suggests a short lag time between the change in pollution and the subjects' response.

According to the study, fine particles pose a significant health problem because they penetrate deep into the lungs, and some may get into the bloodstream, affecting cardiovascular and respiratory health. The findings underscore the need for an air quality standard that adequately protects respiratory health, the authors concluded.



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