- Air pollution is linked to an increased risk of a heart attack.
- It prevents the heart from receiving blood and oxygen.
- A study showed a relationship between pollution exposure and cardiovascular disease.
According to new Kaiser Permanente research, long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased risk of having a heart attack or passing away from heart disease, with under-resourced communities suffering the most. One of the largest studies to date on the effects of long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution from sources like vehicles, smokestacks, and fires was published in JAMA Network Open.
PM2.5, or fine particle air pollution, refers to particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less. The findings support the nation’s current efforts to tighten air pollution regulations.
Lead author Stacey E. Alexeeff, PhD, a research scientist and biostatistician at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, stated, “We found that people exposed to fine particulate air pollution have an increased risk of experiencing a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease — even when those exposure levels are at or below our current U.S. air quality standards.” The Environmental Protection Agency is leading ongoing national discussions on whether and how much to tighten air quality standards to protect the public from the effects of pollution. Our work has the potential to play a significant role in these discussions.”
From 2007 to 2016, 3.7 million adults who had lived in California for at least a year and were Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California were included in the study. The researchers used a technique known as geocoding to link each adult’s address to a specific location in order to determine the average annual exposure to fine particle pollution, which could then be linked to the data on annual exposure to PM2.5. The patients who had been diagnosed with a heart attack or who had passed away from heart disease or cardiovascular disease were then identified.
The current annual regulatory standard for PM2.5 air pollution set by the Environmental Protection Agency is 12 micrograms per cubic meter per year on average. A known cardiovascular disease risk factor is prolonged exposure to PM2.5 air pollution. Air quality standards were initially established by the EPA for this reason.
When compared to exposures at concentrations less than 8 micrograms per cubic meter, the study found that exposures to PM2.5 at concentrations between 12.0 and 13.9 micrograms per cubic meter were associated with a ten percent increased risk of having a heart attack and a sixteen percent increased risk of dying from heart disease or cardiovascular disease.
When cholesterol builds up in the arteries of the heart, it prevents the heart from receiving the blood and oxygen it needs. This condition is known as heart disease. All diseases that can affect the heart and blood vessels, including heart failure, stroke, and peripheral artery disease, fall under the broad category of cardiovascular disease. The EPA proposed tightening the annual PM2.5 standard in January 2023 by lowering the acceptable level to between 9.0 and 10.0 micrograms per cubic meter. According to the EPA, the current standard did not adequately safeguard public health in accordance with the Clean Air Act’s guidelines.
The diagnosis of heart attacks, deaths from cardiovascular disease, and exposure levels below the current limit of 12 micrograms per cubic meter was also examined in this study. Adults exposed to air pollution at moderate concentrations of 10.0 to 11.9 micrograms per cubic meter, as compared to low concentrations of less than 8.0 micrograms per cubic meter, had a 6% increased risk of heart attack and a 7% increased risk of heart disease-related death. This suggests that people’s health would improve if the new standard was less than 10.0 micrograms per cubic meter.
When compared to concentrations below 8.0 micrograms per cubic meter, additional analyses revealed that the increased risk of heart attacks persisted even at concentrations between 8.0 and 9.9 micrograms per cubic meter. This suggests that lowering the new standard to 8.0 micrograms per cubic meter would result in fewer heart attacks in the United States.
Senior author Stephen Sidney, MD, MPH, a research scientist at the Division of Research, stated, “This is one of the largest studies to date to look at the impact of air pollution on heart disease.” Importantly, we were able to take into account other factors like smoking status, body mass index, and illnesses like diabetes that could raise a person’s risk of having a heart attack or developing cardiovascular disease thanks to Kaiser Permanente’s electronic health records. Because of this, we can be confident in our conclusion that air pollution from fine particles has a negative impact on cardiovascular health.”
Additionally, the study demonstrated a correlation between pollution exposure and cardiovascular disease risk. Co-author Stephen Van Den Eeden, PhD, a research scientist at the Division of Research, stated, “We found strong evidence that neighbourhood matters when it comes to exposures to this type of air pollution.” In our study, people living in low-income areas, where there is frequently more industry, busier streets, and highways, had the strongest link between air pollution exposure and cardiovascular events.”
The findings, the researchers claim, “add significant new information to ongoing policy discussions.” Dr Alexeeff stated, “Our study clearly contributes to the evidence that the current regulatory standards are not sufficient to protect the public.” Our findings corroborate the EPA’s conclusion that the public’s safety necessitates lowering the limit to at least 10.0 micrograms per cubic meter. The standard may need to be lowered to 8.0 micrograms per cubic meter, according to our findings, in order to lower the risk of heart attacks. ANI)
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