Researchers have found that air pollution is associated with an increased risk of stroke and stroke-related cardiovascular disease.
- According to the World Health Organization, 92% of the world’s population lives in an area where air pollution levels exceed the thresholds set by the UN agency.
- Each year in France, more than 130,000 strokes occur, or one every four minutes. Stroke is the first cause of acquired disability in adults, the second cause of dementia (after Alzheimer’s disease) and the second cause of mortality (about 10% of deaths)
Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, cognitive disorders… The list of pathologies associated with air pollution never stops growing. Latest finding: exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase risk of stroke and post-stroke medical complications, say researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou , in China. Their work, validated by their peers, has just been published in Neurologythe medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Air pollution: a study carried out on more than 300,000 patients
To reach this conclusion, scientists from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, analyzed data from 318,752 people from a British biobank, over a period of twelve years. The patients, aged 56 on average, had no history of stroke or heart disease at the start of the study. The level of their exposure to air pollution was calculated based on their place of residence. During the study, nearly 6,000 people had a stroke. Among them, nearly 3,000 then developed heart pathologies, and more than 1,000 died a little later.
After adjusting the results according to the lifestyle of the patients (smoking, physical activity, diet, etc.), the researchers found that people exposed to high levels of air pollution were “more likely to have first stroke, post-stroke cardiovascular disease or die” than unexposed people.
A 24% increased risk of stroke by air pollution
In detail, each increase of 5 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particles (smaller than 2.5 microns, which penetrate deep into the body) increases the risk of stroke by 24% and the risk of dying from a stroke by 30% in initially healthy people. High levels of nitrogen oxide and dioxide in the air are also blamed.
“It is possible that decreasing exposure to high levels of air pollution may play a role in reducing the progression of strokes”explains the lead author of the study, Professor Hualiang Lin, in a communicated. Before giving some advice: “People can reduce their exposure by staying indoors on high pollution days, reducing outdoor exercise, wearing masks to filter particles, and using air purifiers.”