Road pollution has effects on the heart and lungs but also on the kidneys. The effects of road traffic cause a decrease in the filtration function of the kidneys.
Living near a busy road increases the risk of developing kidney problems. Doctors already know that long-term exposure to exhaust fumes increases the risk of vascular diseases such as heart attacks and ischemic strokes.
But a study provides a new argument in favor of reducing this type of pollution. Indeed, American researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have found a link between road traffic pollution and a decline in the filtration function of the kidney.
To update this association, they conducted a study of more than 1,100 people who were hospitalized for a stroke. First interesting point: half of the stroke patients in the study lived within 1 km of a busy road in the Boston metropolitan area, and the others lived between 1 km and 10 km…
For each of these hospitalized people, they measured kidney function by calculating the glomerular filtration rate. This test is an indicator of how well the kidneys are working. Low glomerular filtration rate indicates kidney problems. Result of the measurements: the patients who lived closest to a main road had the lowest glomerular filtration rate, even after taking into account factors such as age, sex, race, smoking and other underlying medical conditions.
According to the researchers, the difference in glomerular filtration rate between patients who live closest to and farthest from traffic pollution is comparable to four years of aging. In other words, living in heavy pollution makes your kidneys four years old.
The study does not show that the pollution directly damages the kidney. But for the authors, this work confirms strong suspicions. Then, they recall that the importance of healthy kidneys is often overlooked by the population. “Many people ignore the strong link between cardiovascular disease and kidney disease,” says Dr. Murray Mittleman of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. However, problems with the heart often lead to problems with the kidneys, and vice versa … ”For example, most people with kidney disease have high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease. And conversely, treating a heart problem often puts a strain on kidney function.
This work carried out by the Boston team provides yet another argument for reducing air pollution. Already last February, the health watch institute recalled that air pollution was responsible for 3,000 deaths per year in France. “The loss of life expectancy due to pollution is now quantified. Parisians and the inhabitants of 8 other large French cities lose between 8 and 12 months of life ”explained Dr Bernard Jomier, general practitioner and elected ecologist in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. However, this observation is not inevitable. It was shown in the Aphekom study, that reducing fine particles in the air can save life expectancy.
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