Air pollution and the effects on health

#30

A new paper… avoid the smoke from forest fires!

Impact of air pollution on cardiovascular aging

Highlights

  • Air pollution, especially particulate matter, is a leading environmental health risk factor

  • Air pollution and aging as well as cardiovascular aging share common pathomechanisms such as oxidative stress and inflammation

  • Air pollution may affect the genetic aging pathway (e.g. telomere length)

  • Air pollution largely affects the damage accumulation aging pathway (e.g. oxidative or DNA damage)

  • Air pollution may be associated with decreased lifespan, and shorter healthspan

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047637423000830

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#31

Possibly impairing cognitive benefits of exercise because of air pollution:

Results: UFPM concentrations were significantly higher in the urban environment compared with the rural environment (P = 0.006). Fitness levels improved equally (P < 0.0001) in both groups. Leukocyte counts (P = 0.02), neutrophil counts (P = 0.04), and exhaled nitric oxide levels (P = 0.002) increased after training in the urban group, whereas these parameters did not change in the rural group. The changes in these markers’ levels after training showed a positive correlation with the personal average UFPM exposure during training. Reaction times on the Stroop task improved in the rural group (P = 0.001), but not in the urban group. No effects were found on BDNF levels, Operation Span, and Psychomotor Vigilance test performances.

Conclusion: Aerobic training in an urban environment with high traffic-related air pollution increased inflammatory biomarkers, and, in contrast to aerobic training in a rural environment, cognitive performance on the Stroop task did not improve.

I use a good air purifier and have it on all the time on low setting.

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