A recent Finnish study has uncovered a vital link between air pollution and cardiometabolic health, showing that even low levels of air pollutants can have adverse effects.
Conducted by the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Oulu, as part of the LongITools project, this research found particulate matter—often emitted from traffic and wood burning—to be a significant culprit.
Intriguingly, the study also revealed that diet quality can influence how air pollution impacts cardiometabolic health.
Published in Environmental Research, the study emphasizes the global concern of air pollution, a leading factor contributing to disease and premature death.
Most people worldwide live in areas where air pollution exceeds the recommended limits set by the World Health Organization.
Alarmingly, even slight increases in fine particulate matter, below these guideline limits, have been linked to higher mortality rates from cardiometabolic diseases across European cities.
Diet, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, shares several mechanisms with air pollution in affecting cardiometabolic health. The study involved a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial with 82 participants in Kuopio, Finland.
Spanning 33 weeks, the study collected biological samples, air pollution data, and dietary records at four intervals.
Diet quality was assessed using the Baltic Sea Diet Score, indicative of a healthy Nordic diet rich in fruits, vegetables, berries, fish, and low in meat and alcohol.
Doctoral Researcher Darren Healy, the study’s lead author from the University of Eastern Finland, explained the findings. Air pollutants, even at very low concentrations, were linked to negative cardiometabolic outcomes, mainly due to particulate matter.
These effects were seen in insulin resistance markers, appetite-related hormones, and lipid levels.
What stood out was how diet quality moderated the impact of air pollutants. Individuals with a lower-quality diet experienced increased cholesterol levels when exposed to higher levels of fine particulate matter. In contrast, those with a high-quality diet did not show this adverse effect.
Healy emphasizes the importance of individual measures, like improving diet quality, to mitigate the effects of air pollution on cardiometabolic health. This approach is crucial, even as global efforts continue to reduce pollution levels.
The study not only highlights the protective role of a healthy diet against low-level air pollution exposure but also underscores the need for policies that improve food environments and diets, alongside tackling air pollution.
This groundbreaking study sheds light on the complex interplay between environmental factors and lifestyle choices in influencing health, offering a dual approach to improving cardiometabolic health by focusing on both air quality and dietary habits.
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The research findings can be found in Environmental Research.
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