Air pollution is a deadly factor! Study: Low concentrations of "PM2.5" can also increase the risk of death
healthorn expert Q&A
Q: “Air pollution” is actually a deadly factor? What else can you do to prevent air pollution from causing cancer?
A: There are many threats to the air in your home. In addition to smoking and burning incense, the easily overlooked “carcinogen formaldehyde” is the main source of indoor air pollution. The boards, sofas, mattresses, and curtains used for decoration will emit a large amount of formaldehyde, further causing the indoor formaldehyde to exceed the standard. Especially for women, children and people prone to allergies, if they live in a space with excessive formaldehyde for a long time, it will increase the frequency of allergies and skin inflammation, and may lead to female infertility, childhood leukemia, cancer and other symptoms.
To solve the problem of formaldehyde poisoning, it is recommended to seek formal formaldehyde removal companies to carry out indoor formaldehyde removal projects. Long-term formaldehyde removal projects usually take more than 3 days to recycle formaldehyde deep inside furniture and decorations using standard construction methods. And effectively decomposes to ensure that the formaldehyde concentration in the space is lower than the safe value for a long time. When selecting a manufacturer, special attention should be paid to choosing a manufacturer with a long-term warranty to ensure healthy and non-toxic indoor air quality for a long time and reduce the risk of cancer.
Taiwan’s air pollution has been serious recently, especially in the central and western half of the country where PM2.5 values are generally increasing. It is recommended that people still wear masks when commuting and do not ignore the dangers of air pollution. Research published in Science Advances in September has clearly shown that even low levels of air pollution are enough to increase human mortality and may also increase the risk of early death.
Low concentrations of PM2.5 can also kill! Research: Only an increase of 10μg/m³ increases mortality by 8%
A research team from McGill University in Canada combined the medical records and mortality data of 7 million Canadians over the past 25 years with the national outdoor PM2.5 concentration level data, and used a series of cross-comparisons to try to clarify the relationship between the two. sex. It is understood that Canada’s average air pollution level is lower than that of other countries. The average PM2.5 index in 2021 is 8 μg/m³, which is nearly 10 times that of Bangladesh (76.9 μg/m³), the most polluted country.
However, even in Canada, where air quality is generally good, air pollution still affects the average life span of local residents. Research results show that if the outdoor PM2.5 concentration increases by 10 μg/m³ on average, it is associated with an 8% increase in the risk of non-accidental death. Even after taking into account smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI, exercise and dietary habits, there is still a significant association between PM2.5 and the risk of death.
Study author Scott Weichenthal pointed out that the experiment also found that when the concentrations of two chemical components, “excess metals” and “sulfur content”, increase, the correlation between PM2.5 and mortality is stronger. He also pointed out that by analyzing the functional shape of global PM 2.5 concentration, it can be known that more than 1.5 million people around the world may have additional attributable mortality risks due to air pollution every year.
Cancer, dementia, and depression are all here? Air pollution linked to 6 disease risks
Why is exposure to PM2.5 associated with higher mortality? In fact, there have been many studies in the academic community that point out that the impact of air pollution on the heart, lungs, and brain may lead to fatal consequences. Overall, overexposure to PM2.5 can lead to the following consequences:
Reduced brain function. The University of Washington analyzed 1,967 pregnant women and found that PM2.5 is related to poor brain development in children in the future; a Boston College study also claimed that air pollution reduced the average IQ of local children by about 2 points, and reported many cases of cognitive decline and learning ability in children. Insufficient cases.
Lung cancer. A mouse study by Nanjing University in China showed that suspended particulates in the air inhibit the growth of immune cells, cytotoxic T cells, which indirectly causes cancer cells in the lungs to thrive and increases the risk of lung cancer.
Obesity. The University of Michigan analyzed 1,654 women from around the world and found that long-term exposure to air pollution was associated with higher body fat (an average increase of 4.5%). Studies have shown that exposure to PM 2.5 enhances the expression of genes involved in lipogenesis, leading to an increase in adipocytes and visceral fat.
Irregular heartbeat. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines state that when PM2.5 rises by only 1 μg/m³ in 1 week, the likelihood of arrhythmia increases by 2.4% compared with the average level. When PM10 was 1 μg/m³ above the average within 1 week, the risk of arrhythmia increased by 2.1%.
Depression. The American Psychological Association (APA) states that air pollution or ozone may increase inflammation in the body, which may be related to the occurrence of depression. Teenagers are particularly sensitive to these effects because they spend more time outdoors than adults or the elderly.
Dementia. A study by the University of Southern California pointed out that older women living in areas where suspended particulate matter exceeds standards have an 81% higher risk of cognitive decline; and a 92% higher risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Research suggests that this phenomenon may be related to air pollution stimulating the Alzheimer’s disease-related gene “APOE4”.
Finally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls on the public to take proactive measures to protect their respiratory tract from the effects of air pollution when air pollution is raging in the environment. For example, take the initiative to go online to learn about the air quality index; reduce the chance of going out; wear long-sleeved clothes, hats, glasses, and masks; place plants outdoors; avoid second-hand smoke or perfume smoke, and use air purifiers to operate throughout the day, which can provide appropriate prevention The harm of air pollution to the body.
Source:
The most polluted countries and regions in the world (historical data 2018 - 2021)
How low can you go? Air pollution affects mortality at very low levels
Low levels of air pollution deadlier than previously thought News
Air pollution particles hijack peroxidasin to disrupt immunosurveillance and promote lung cancer
Further reading:
