In a study from Columbia University, scientists found higher levels of air pollutants are linked to bone damage among older women.
The effects were most evident on the lumbar spine, with nitrous oxides twice as damaging to the area as in normal aging.
Previous studies on pollutants have suggested adverse effects on bone mineral density, osteoporosis risk, and fractures in older people.
The current study is the first to explore the connection between air pollution and bone mineral density specifically in older women.
The researchers analyzed data collected through the Women’s Health Initiative study, an ethnically diverse cohort of 161,808 postmenopausal women.
They estimated air pollution (PM10, NO, NO2, and SO2) exposures based on participants’ home addresses.
The team found the magnitude of the effects of nitrogen oxides on lumbar spine BMD would amount to 1.22% annual reductions—nearly double the annual effects of age on any of the anatomical sites evaluated.
These effects are believed to happen through bone cell death by way of oxidative damage and other mechanisms.
These findings confirm that poor air quality may be a risk factor for bone loss, independent of socioeconomic or demographic factors.
For the first time, researchers have evidence that nitrogen oxides, in particular, are a major contributor to bone damage and that the lumbar spine is one of the most susceptible sites of this damage.
Improvements in air pollution exposure, particularly nitrogen oxides, will reduce bone damage in postmenopausal women, prevent bone fractures, and reduce the health cost burden associated with osteoporosis among postmenopausal women.
Further efforts should focus on detecting those at higher risk of air pollution-related bone damage.
Car and truck exhaust is a major source of nitrous oxides, as are the emissions from electrical power generation plants.
Previously, Columbia researchers have shown that long-term air pollution exposure reduces BMD and increases bone fracture risk in later life. Subsequently, these findings have been confirmed in multiple human studies.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about how Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and this plant nutrient could help reduce high blood pressure.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
The study was conducted by Diddier Prada et al and published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
