The international team of scientists found out that long-term accommodation in areas even with low pollution of the atmosphere leads to an increased risk of stroke and coronary heart disease. The new article of the researchers was published in The Lancet Planetary Health magazine.
The collaboration of scientists from different countries of Europe has studied data on the health of 137 thousand inhabitants of Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. Their state was tracked on average for 17 years. Researchers were interested in whether the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease is connected with the presence of fine-dispersed – diameter in the atmosphere, up to 2.5 microns – suspended particles, nitrogen oxide, soot or ozone.
“We found a decade of a valuable increase in the risk of stroke for every five additional micrograms of fine suspended particles in the air in which you live,” said Annett Peters researchers. In addition, researchers managed to identify the connection of the presence in the atmosphere of nitrogen oxide and soot with an increased risk of stroke. It turned out that only the presence of nitrogen oxide in the air is influenced by the risk of ischemic disease – the growth of its detention was associated with an increase in the likelihood of the development of a disease by four percent.
Researchers failed to establish thresholds in which the contamination of the atmosphere becomes safe for health. However, at the same time, they managed to show that the negative effects of the presence of suspended particles and oxide are manifested even within the established WHO and the EU standards – 10 and 25 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. It is noted that in the near future WHO will revise its air quality standards.