Exposure to
smog is linked to higher death risk among people admitted to the hospital for a
heart attack, a new study suggests. Many British researchers found death rates
for these patients increased following exposure to air pollution from fine
"particulate matter" measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less.
They calculated that death rates would drop by 12 percent among heart attack
survivors if they were not exposed to higher concentrations of air pollution.
In
conducting the study, the researchers examined the medical records of more than
150,000 people who were hospitalized for a heart attack between 2004 and 2007.
They also analyzed the average air pollution concentrations from 2004 to 2010. The participants were followed until the study
ended in 2010, or until they died. Researchers took into account their gender,
age, medical history, treatments, medications and whether they smoked.
Participants' income, education, job and where they lived were also considered.
Over the course of the study, nearly 40,000 people died. The researchers found
exposure to fine particulate matter, caused primarily by auto emissions and
industry, was associated with an increase in death rates among people who had
earlier survived heart attacks.
People from
poorer backgrounds often live in areas with higher levels of air pollution, the
study authors noted. These people also tend to have worse outcomes following
heart problems than those with a higher socioeconomic status. This raises the
possibility that exposure to air pollution may explain, in part, the
differences in prognosis among heart attack patients from different
backgrounds. While the study tied air pollution exposure to higher death rates
among heart attack survivors, it didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship. The
findings were limited by the fact that researchers were unable to determine how
many people died due to a heart-related problem. In addition, exposure to air
pollution was based on where patients lived and didn't consider travel away
from home. "The responsibility for controlling air pollution rests
on national governments of the planet."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/20/smog-causes-surge-in-heart-deaths-study/
Ryan Lindquist
Feb 22, 2013
1:24 P.M.
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