Air pollution increases risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis

Rising pollution has created chaos for our environmental interest as well as health issue, a study published in journal Science Daily reflects on another aspect of air pollution which increases the risk of blood clot.

The study says that prolonged exposure to air pollution increases risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVP), blood clots that form in deep vein in the thigh or legs and reaches to lungs thereby causing serious complication.

•   E-mail Article
•   Printer Friendly
•   Text-Size    

It is reported that very small particles of solid and liquid chemicals which come from burning fossil fuels and other sources has been found to be linked to the increased risk of developing or dying from heart disease and stroke.

Andrea Baccarelli, M.D., Ph.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues examined 870 patients who were exposed to particulate in air smaller than 10 micrometer in diameter and were diagnosed with DVP in Lombardy, Italy, between 1995 and 2005.

The patients along with 1,210 controls with no sign of DVT were assigned to one of the nine geographical area based on where they lived at the time of the study.

After that the researchers assessed the average concentration of the particulate matter collected through the monitors located at 53 different sites throughout the region to estimate the level of exposure over the year before diagnosis including both patients and controls.

Later it was confirmed that patients who were exposed for prolonged duration suffered from DVT as compared to those of controls. Also it was marked that for every increase of particulate matter of 10 micrograms per square meter the previous year, the risk of DVT increased by 70%.

Also, the blood of patients in both the case and control groups with higher levels of exposure to particulate matter took less time to clot, as measured by a test given in the clinic.

Interestingly, the association between particle exposure and blood clot showed gender specific characteristics with stronger in men than in women also in the clot disappeared among women taking oral contraceptives or hormone therapy.

The study said that hormone therapies are independent risk factors for DVP, which is also confirmed in this study by the higher prevalence of oral contraceptive and hormone use in the cases compared with the controls.

It emphasised on developing some standard and effort to reduce air pollution through concerted effort.