Pollution increases the risk of heart failure in women

Pollution harms our health in many ways, we all know this. But now a new research has revealed that women are more prone to heart failure due to living in a city full of pollution. According to a recent study on women, living in a polluted city for just three years increases the risk of heart failure in women by 43 percent, according to a news report published in the Daily Mail. Along with this, the strings of health problems like dementia, obesity and infertility in women are also related to pollution somewhere.

This study has been done on Danish nurses for 15 to 20 years. The researchers collected data from more than 20 thousand nurses from 1993-99. According to which 5.1 microgram per cubic meter increase in PM 2.5 (polluted particulates from diesel-petrol) increased the risk of heart failure in women by 17%. In addition, an increase of 8.6 micrograms per cubic meter of nitrogen dioxide increased the risk by 10%.

Another type of traffic pollution, nitrogen dioxide, was also associated with an increased risk of heart failure, according to the study. The scientists found that for every 8.6 microgram increase in average NO2 exposure, the risk of heart failure increased by 10 percent. According to the researchers, it was not only air pollution that affected the health of women, noise pollution also appeared to give some similar messages. In the study, for every 9.3 decibels increase in average traffic noise for 24 hours a day, the risk of heart failure increased by 12 percent.

The study’s lead author Dr. Eun-hee Lim and her colleagues also found that the effects of these pollutants were worse when combined. Women exposed to high levels of all three types of pollution over three years were 43 percent more likely to have a heart beat. This effect was worse on women who already smoked or who had complaints of high blood pressure.