15 surprising ways pollution could potentially affect your health
Exposure to pollution could impair cognitive abilities.
The longer people are exposed to air pollutants, the more their cognitive ability is impaired as they age, according to a 2018 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers reviewed language and math tests given to the same 20,000 people in China between 2010 and 2014, and also reviewed the levels of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide in the air during those years.
Researchers reported a correlation between pollution levels and how well the individuals performed on the tests. Language abilities were the most affected, and in general, the longer the exposure to pollution, the lower the scores.
Researchers found a link between air pollution and a higher risk of developing dementia.
A study published in BMJ Open found a relationship between pollution in the air and the risk of developing dementia.
The postcodes of nearly 131,000 patients, ages 50 to 79, at doctors' offices in London were examined for nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants. The study found that patients exposed to the highest level of nitrogen dioxide had a 40% higher risk of developing dementia than others.
In another study by Public Health Canada, it was found that people who live near major highways could also be at a higher risk for developing the disease. Researchers examined 7 million people, ages 20 to 85, and found those who lived 164 feet from a major highway had a 4% increased chance of developing dementia. The farther away a person lived, the more the risk decreased.
Another study published in Translational Psychiatry found women who lived in areas with high levels of air pollutants could be at twice the risk of developing dementia.
People with mental health disorders could be more likely to die when there's more air pollution.
In an analysis published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found a correlation between air pollution and suicide and depression globally. A 2017 study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology found a link between short-term increases in air pollution and suicide.
A study by Hong King Polytechnic University found that people with mental health disorders had a higher chance of dying on days with high air pollution levels.
For the study, researchers looked at 10 years of death records and found a link between deaths and haze days (when pollutants in the air are so extreme that it visibility is decreased). For the first haze day, the risk of death increases by 16% and rises to 27% on the second day, according to researchers. If the haze was accompanied by high ozone pollution, the risk of death increased by 79%, according to The Guardian.
High pollution could potentially contribute to mental health issues in children.
A study in BMJ Open identified a link between air pollution and the increase of mental illness in children.
Swedish researchers examined medical records for 500,000 children and discovered that children and adolescents living in high-pollution areas were more likely to be prescribed medication for various mental health disorders.
Studies have also suggested a correlation between prenatal exposure to air pollution and autism rates.
According to a study by The Harvard School of Public Health, if the child's mother was exposed to high levels of pollution during pregnancy (specifically the third trimester), a child was twice as likely to be diagnosed with autism. The study used data from the Nurses' Health Study II (one of the largest investigations into risk factors for chronic diseases in women), and compared that data with that provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Another, 2018 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that women in Vancouver, Canada, who were exposed to the highest level of environmental nitric oxide were more likely to give birth to children who were diagnosed with autism. The study's lead author cautioned that the findings did not show air pollution caused autism, CNN reported.
Pollution has also been linked to an increased risk of miscarriage.
A study published in Fertility and Sterility suggested exposure to air pollutants could increase the risk of a miscarriage in early pregnancy by more than 10%.
"We found that both ozone and particles in the air were related to an increased risk of early pregnancy loss," senior researcher Pauline Mendola told HealthDay News. She added that the study did not show pollution caused miscarriages, only that there was an association.
Pollution could possibly affect sperm counts in men, as well as sperm quality.
A study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine found higher air pollution was associated with lower quality sperm in men.
Researchers documented 6,500 men living in Taiwan and found that those exposed to air pollution had an increased risk of having abnormal sperm, in shape and size. These men reported a higher sperm count, however, in the body's attempt to counteract the irregularity.
Exposure to air pollutants has also been linked to premature births.
According to a study by The Stockholm Environmental Institute, 18% (2.7 million) of premature births worldwide in 2010 were connected to exposure to atmospheric fine particulate called PM2.5. The pollutant's main source is agricultural waste-burning, forest fires, power plants, diesel vehicles, and airplanes.
An infant's developing brain could also be affected by pollution.
According to a UNICEF report, breathing in air pollution can potentially have an adverse affect on the development of an infant's brain. In South Asia, 17 million babies under the age of 1 are affected. The report says children are more affected by pollution than adults because they breathe more rapidly.
According to the report, ultra fine pollution can enter the blood stream, damage the blood-brain barrier, and cause neuro-inflammation. Other pollution particles like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can damage the areas of the brain responsible for a child's learning and development, the report said.
Pollution could be damaging to your bone health.
A study published in JAMA Network Open found an association between level of air pollution and bone mass.
Researchers analyzed the health of 3,717 people living in South India who were exposed to PM2.5 levels three times higher than what's considered safe by the World Health Organization. The researchers measured the changes in their bone mineral content, finding that when there was an increase in PM2.5, there were notable drops in bone mineral density in the spine and hip.
Heart health could be affected, too.
According to the American Heart Association, air pollution can cause heart inflammation and disease. According to Live Science, pollution triggers almost as many heart attacks as alcohol, coffee, and exercise. Researchers said that air pollution accounts for 4.8% of heart attacks, while coffee and alcohol each account for 5%. Meanwhile, physical exertion accounts for 6.2%.
High levels of pollution have also been linked to high blood pressure.
A study in the European Heart Journal found a link between long-term exposure to pollution and an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. Researchers studied 41,000 people living in Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
None of the participants suffered from hypertension at the beginning of the study, but 15 percent developed hypertension or began taking medicine to lower blood pressure. Researchers discovered the risk of hypertension increased by 22 percent for people living in the most polluted areas compared to participants living in areas with the lowest pollution.
Exposure to high levels of pollution could potentially affect the risk of having a stroke.
Strokes kill around 5 million people worldwide per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to a study in BMJ, researchers discovered a correlation between short periods of exposure to air pollution and hospitalization and/or death resulting from a stroke. Researchers reviewed 94 studies of 6.2 million stroke cases in 28 countries and found that the number of strokes reported were disproportionately higher in developing countries with high pollution levels.
Air pollution may also have damaging effects on a person's kidneys.
According to a study of US veterans in Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, exposure to air pollution could be associated with developing kidney disease and even kidney failure.
Researchers analyzed the medical data of 2 million veterans over eight years, gathering information on air pollution levels in areas they lived via NASA satellites. The study found that even contact with low pollution levels could negatively affect a person's kidneys.
Pollution can even mess with a person's DNA.
While you won't get powers like Spider-Man or some other superhero, according to a study by the University of British Columbia smog can change a person's DNA methylation patterns. These are responsible for turning genes on or off, and therefore affect how an organism develops and functions.
Volunteers in the study were asked to sit in a sealed-off room where pollution levels from across the globe were simulated by filling the room with diesel exhaust.
"In two hours, the chemical coating attached to many parts of a person's DNA had changed," Global News reported. "Over the lifetime of an individual … this could lead to accumulated changes that effectively lead to the diseases that we see due to air pollution," Dr. Chris Carlsten, one of the study's authors, told the publication.
- Read more:
- 35 vintage photos reveal what Los Angeles looked like before the US regulated pollution
- China's air pollution dropped dramatically after coronavirus lockdown
- 35 vintage photos taken by the EPA reveal what American cities looked like before pollution was regulated
- The 25 most dangerously polluted cities in the US
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