Air pollution increases risk of heart disease

Air pollution is a reality today and has been a subject of much discussion recently. Several studies have demonstrated the association of poor air quality with diseases such as respiratory and heart diseases, global warming making it a major public health problem of concern.

Yet another new study reported in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology has highlighted the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases due to traffic-related air pollution and proposed an explanation for the relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular disease.  The study says that traffic-related air pollution may increase risk of developing heart diseases via its effects on the good high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

The study involving more than 6000 middle-aged and older adults in the United States found that people who live in areas with high levels of air pollution, especially traffic-related air pollution, have lower levels of the good HDL-C. Over a period of one year, those with higher exposure to black carbon, emitted from vehicles, had considerably lower levels of HDL-C compared to those with lower exposure to black carbon. Higher particulate matter exposure over three months was associated with a lower HDL particle number. Compared to men, women had much lower levels of HDL-C.

Keep your total cholesterol lower than 160mg/dL. HDL is good cholesterol, keep it more than 40mg/dL. LDL is bad cholesterol and should be kept as low as possible; keep it lower than 80 mg/dL. A 1% rise in bad cholesterol increases the chances of heart attack by 2% and 1% reduction in good HDL-C reduces the chances of heart attack by 3%.

Contributed by Dr KK Aggarwal

(National Prresident IMA and HCFI)