Dr KK Aggarwal
(Excerpts from NIH): Long-term exposure to air pollution
was linked to increases in emphysema between 2000 and 2018, according to a new
study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study is published in The
Journal of the American Medical Association.
The relationship between various air pollutants and
emphysema was measured through computed tomography (CT) lung imaging and lung
function testing. Consistent results were found in these varied metropolitan
regions: Winston-Salem, North Carolina; St. Paul, Minnesota; New York City;
Baltimore; Chicago; and Los Angeles. Participants came from the Multi-Ethnic
Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a medical research study, and involved more
than 7,000 men and women from the six localities. Researchers measured all
major air pollutants with longitudinal increases in percent emphysema revealed
by more than 15,000 CT scans acquired from 2000 to 2018.
“The combined health effect of multiple air pollutants
- ozone, fine particles known as PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, and black carbon
- was greater than when the pollutants were assessed individually,” said Bonnie
Joubert, Ph.D., a scientific program director at NIEHS. “With the study’s
long-running duration, repeated CT scans allowed analysis of changes in
emphysema over time.”
“These findings may offer one explanation for why
emphysema is found in some people who never smoked,” said James
Kiley, Ph.D., NHLBI’s director of the Division of Lung Diseases. “The study’s
results, duration, and timing offer insight into the long-term effects of air
pollution on the U.S. population.”
Emphysema, usually associated with cigarette smoking, is
a chronic disease in which lung tissue is destroyed and unable to effectively
transfer oxygen in the body. It is a debilitating disease and is not curable,
but treatments help manage the disease. Understanding and controlling emphysema
may lead to better treatment.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of
Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of
India
Past National President
IMA
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