Older studies on the effects of pollution in people who live in large cities or near a source of pollution had already highlighted the risks of increased chances of lung cancer.
In fact a study was able to ascertain that for certain people who live in Calcutta, one of the most pollution riddled places in the world, just breathing the contaminated air gave the citizens the same risk of lung cancer as a two-pack a day smoker.
Now there is further evidence of the damage wrought by pollution in the human body.
In fact, with time, breathing air pollution has now been found to cause hardening of the arteries, whereas lower levels of pollution have been linked to slowed progression of hardening of the arteries.
The Epidemiology Institute at the University of Michigan - U of M- in Ann Harbor, Michigan, has effected a study that shows the effects of pollution and allows researchers to quantify the increase in heart attacks and strokes in those people with higher exposure to pollutants.
Given the widespread distribution and the number of cardiocirculatory disease in the world, it is very important to assess what role, if any, exposure to high level of particulates and air pollution play in the total number of medical cases.
Particulates especially seem to play a major role in getting sick. These particles are able to lodge in the lungs, are more toxic and have more serious effect on the body. Most particulates come from vehicle emissions, power plants and fired coal plants.
It also appears that particulates contribute to low birth weight.
The link between air pollution and the effects on the c.v. system are not yet clear, in terms of how the pollution causes the effect on the tissue itself, but its results are.
The study was done on subjects between 45 and 84 years old, in six metro areas in the US. The total number studied was 5,362 participants.
After eliminating concomitant factors such as smoke , age and diet, the findings were that the IMT or thickness of the carotid artery deposits was increased by 14 μm per year. But for those who lived in higher pollution areas, even within the same city, the thickening occurred much faster.
Source : MNT 4.26.13
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