Breathing car exhaust might trigger stroke
Air pollution from car exhaust might trigger strokes, suggests a new study.
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Air pollution from car exhaust might trigger strokes.
Stroke is the second leading cause of the death worldwide, accounting for about 4.4 million deaths every year. The relevance of ultrafine particles (UFPs, particles <0.1 µm diameter), the smallest fraction of ambient particulate matter, on stroke risk has not been documented.
To study the effects of exposure to car exhaust (UFP, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide) on stroke risk, researchers used a background air pollution monitor to measure the amount of these pollutants produced by cars over four years in Denmark. Then they compared the levels of these pollutants on certain days with the number of hospital admissions for different kinds of strokes at nine hospitals within 15 kilometers of the monitor.
Over the course of the study, about 7,500 people were hospitalised for a stroke. The researchers discovered significant positive association with exposure to UFPs, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, and ischaemic strokes (those caused by restriction of blood supply), and UFPs and nitorogen oxides and mild strokes, 4 days before admission but the strongest associations were with UFPs. It was found that short-term exposure to these particles was linked to hospital admissions for minor, ischemic strokes that happened a few days after exposure. Among patients with mild, ischemic strokes who did not have heart abnormalities that would make them stroke-prone, the researchers estimated a 21 percent increase in hospital admissions following exposure. They calculated that 147 new cases of these strokes per year can be attributed to small, traffic-generated particles.
The findings data suggest that exposure to increased levels of air pollution over several days can trigger stroke hospitalization. The finding adds to the current knowledge of the effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on cardiovascular health.
Stroke is the second leading cause of the death worldwide, accounting for about 4.4 million deaths every year. The relevance of ultrafine particles (UFPs, particles <0.1 µm diameter), the smallest fraction of ambient particulate matter, on stroke risk has not been documented.
To study the effects of exposure to car exhaust (UFP, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide) on stroke risk, researchers used a background air pollution monitor to measure the amount of these pollutants produced by cars over four years in Denmark. Then they compared the levels of these pollutants on certain days with the number of hospital admissions for different kinds of strokes at nine hospitals within 15 kilometers of the monitor.
Over the course of the study, about 7,500 people were hospitalised for a stroke. The researchers discovered significant positive association with exposure to UFPs, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, and ischaemic strokes (those caused by restriction of blood supply), and UFPs and nitorogen oxides and mild strokes, 4 days before admission but the strongest associations were with UFPs. It was found that short-term exposure to these particles was linked to hospital admissions for minor, ischemic strokes that happened a few days after exposure. Among patients with mild, ischemic strokes who did not have heart abnormalities that would make them stroke-prone, the researchers estimated a 21 percent increase in hospital admissions following exposure. They calculated that 147 new cases of these strokes per year can be attributed to small, traffic-generated particles.
The findings data suggest that exposure to increased levels of air pollution over several days can trigger stroke hospitalization. The finding adds to the current knowledge of the effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on cardiovascular health.
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