The number of people dying from heart disease skyrocketed by dust and smoke

According to a new study published Feb. 20, exposure to large amounts of dust causes a spike in the number of people who die from heart disease.

>>>The rate of deaths from heart disease is increasing among young people

Research published on the European Heart Journal reported that pollution with PM2.5 particles (2.5 micrometers or less in diameter) was the cause.

Such small dust particles come primarily from burning coal and kerosene to generate electricity. In addition, they are also generated from diesel fuel consumption in transportation.

With a size 30 times smaller than a human hair, PM2.5 dust particles have long been considered the culprit for causing respiratory diseases, due to their small size, which can cause them to penetrate deep into the lungs. Few people know that they can also cause cardiovascular disease.

Cathryn Tonne of London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene led a study examining the case of 154,000 patients in England and Wales who had been hospitalized for a heart attack between 2004 and 2007.

They followed the patients for more than 3 years after they were discharged from the hospital. Around this time, nearly 40,000 people died.

After eliminating factors that could influence such socio-economic status, smoking habits, scientists found a clear link between their early death status with PM2.5.

The risk from PM2.5 has surpassed the risk of greater threat from larger PM10 dust particles (10 micrometers in diameter).

"We found that every 10 micrograms of PM2.5 dust increased in one cubic meter of air, the early death rate also increased to 20 percent," Tonne said.

If the level of PM2.5 drops to a natural level, the number of deaths in the study could be reduced by 12%, or 4,873.

The level of exposure to average PM2.5 in the UK is 11 micrograms / m ³ , with the highest in London (14.1 micrograms / m ³ ). The lowest level is in the northeastern region of England (8.4 micrograms / m ³ ).

For comparison purposes, the World Health Organization has set a standard for PM2.5 dust in the year-round breathing air not exceeding 10 micrograms / m ³ . Within 24 hours, the maximum PM2.5 is 25 micrograms / m ³ .

Dust has become a big problem in Asian cities over the past decade.

Last month in Beijing, the level of PM2.5 reached 993 micrograms / m ³ , 40 times higher than the WHO safety limit and angered public opinion.

"Pollution in Beijing is a major cause of concern" - Pier Manucci, a professor at Milan University commented - "When you know that here in Italy, in Milan, we have expressed concern. knowing that PM2.5 hit the 100 level and in China this index touched 1,000, you can understand the magnitude of the difference in risk and related impacts. "

He said that the majority of studies on the relationship between cardiovascular disease and pollution are carried out in rich countries, where the level of PM2.5 is much lower.

"We know the level of pollution in these countries, thanks to satellite data about the concentration of the dust," Manucci told AFP - "But people don't care very much (to pollution), except during the 2008 Olympics, when people reduced traffic in Beijing. "