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Study: Air pollution tied to stroke, memory loss
Source: Agencies |
February 15, 2012, Wednesday
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LIVING in a crowded city or near a busy highway where the air quality is poor might lead to a higher chance of stroke or memory loss, according to two studies in the United States.
Both reports appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, with one finding a higher risk of stroke among Boston-area residents after days where air quality was "moderate," as opposed to "good," especially when traffic pollution was high.
The other study, which looked at thousands of women, documented a faster long-term decline in thinking and memory skills in women living in higher-pollution areas of the US.
None of the findings could prove that pollutants were to blame for strokes or memory problems, but previous studies have supported findings of negative effects on the heart and on blood vessels.
"At levels considered to be generally safe by the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), we're seeing important health effects," said Gregory Wellenius of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, lead author of the stroke study.
His team reviewed the records of 1,700 patients admitted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston with a stroke between 1999 and 2008.
The team found the risk of having a stroke was 34 percent higher in the 24 hours after "moderate" pollution readings.
In the other study, a team led by Jennifer Weuve of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago analyzed cognitive tests given to 20,000 women, most in their 70s, and estimated air pollution around their homes.
They found that more air pollution was tied to faster rates of cognitive decline.
Both reports appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, with one finding a higher risk of stroke among Boston-area residents after days where air quality was "moderate," as opposed to "good," especially when traffic pollution was high.
The other study, which looked at thousands of women, documented a faster long-term decline in thinking and memory skills in women living in higher-pollution areas of the US.
None of the findings could prove that pollutants were to blame for strokes or memory problems, but previous studies have supported findings of negative effects on the heart and on blood vessels.
"At levels considered to be generally safe by the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), we're seeing important health effects," said Gregory Wellenius of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, lead author of the stroke study.
His team reviewed the records of 1,700 patients admitted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston with a stroke between 1999 and 2008.
The team found the risk of having a stroke was 34 percent higher in the 24 hours after "moderate" pollution readings.
In the other study, a team led by Jennifer Weuve of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago analyzed cognitive tests given to 20,000 women, most in their 70s, and estimated air pollution around their homes.
They found that more air pollution was tied to faster rates of cognitive decline.
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