In a new study, researchers found exposure to what is considered low levels of air pollution over a long period of time can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and pneumonia among people ages 65 and older.
The research was conducted by a team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Air pollution can cause harm to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems due to its effect on inflammation in the heart and throughout the body.
In the study, the team examined hospitalization records for more than 63 million Medicare enrollees in the contiguous United States from 2000 to 2016.
They measured three components of air pollution: fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3).
The researchers calculated the study participants’ exposure to the pollutants based upon their residential zip code.
They found that the risks for heart attacks, strokes, atrial fibrillation and flutter, and pneumonia were associated with long-term exposure to particulate matter.
There were surges in hospital admissions for all of the health outcomes studied with each additional unit of increase in particulate matter.
Specifically, stroke rates increased by 2,536 for each additional ug/m3 increase in fine particulate matter each year.
There was an increased risk of stroke and atrial fibrillation linked to long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide.
Pneumonia was the only health outcome in the study that seemed impacted by long-term exposure to ozone.
When the team restricted our analyses to individuals who were only exposed to lower concentrations of air pollution, they still found an increased risk of hospital admissions with all of the studied outcomes, even at concentration levels below current national standards.
The team says people should be conscious of the air quality in the region where they live to avoid harmful exposure over long periods of time, if possible.
Since our study found harmful effects at levels below current U.S. standards, air pollution should be considered as a risk factor for cardiovascular and respiratory disease by clinicians, and policymakers should reconsider current standards for air pollutants.
One author of the study is Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi, Pharm.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
The study is published in Circulation.
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