| Air Pollution Tied to
Strokes Strokes, one of the world's leading killers, are caused
by more than just sedentary lifestyles and poor diets, says an international
team of researchers. Air pollutants also play a part.
In one of the few detailed studies of stroke death and air
pollutants conducted to date, a team from four Korean institutions and the
Harvard School of Public Health found that deaths from stroke increased
consistently with rising concentrations of either particulate matter (PM)
carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), or
ozone. The two most susceptible groups were found to be women and people 65
and over.
The team based its findings on data from Korea's largest
metropolitan area, Seoul, a city of both relatively high particulate
concentrations and high numbers of fatal strokes. The team found that rises
in PM10 and ozone concentrations had a strong, nearly immediate link with
stroke deaths. Analysis of NO2, SO2, and CO showed increases of a similar
scale, but with a two-day lag. The team didn't look at the combined effects
of all four pollutants. |
