Long-term exposure to air pollution increases COPD hospitalization

Illustration of lungs with a cityscape and air pollution inside.

Long-term exposure to air pollution and a lack of green spaces increases the risk of hospitalization for COPD patients. That’s according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Vienna, Austria.

The first study, which included results of the Life-GAP project, was presented by Shanshan Xu, a PhD candidate from the Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Bergen in Norway. Xu’s team used data from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, which looked at respiratory hospitalizations in Europe from 2000 to 2010, including 1,644 people from five countries.

The researchers evaluated the association between respiratory health and long-term exposure to particulate matter, black carbon, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and the amount and health of the vegetation surrounding their homes. They found that particulate matter, black carbon and nitrogen oxide increased the risk of being hospitalized for respiratory diseases, such as COPD.

“Specifically, we observed that for each interquartile range increase in these pollutants the risk of hospitalization rises by approximately 30% to 45%, depending on the pollutant,” Xu said in a news release. “Greenness, on the other hand, contributed to a reduced risk of respiratory hospitalization.”

“Air pollution causes persistent inflammation and oxidative stress in the respiratory system,” said Xu. “These harmful processes contribute to the development and exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases, which can escalate into severe health episodes requiring hospital care. It is also likely that long-term exposure to air pollution could lead to a decreased tolerance or increased sensitivity to these pollutants, explaining why even moderate or low levels might cause severe health effects in certain populations.”

The second study was presented by Samual Cai, PhD, a lecturer in environmental epidemiology in the Center for Environmental Health and Sustainability at the University of Leicester in the U.K. This study looked at 46,832 patients with asthma who were recruited into the U.K. Biobank cohort from 2006 through 2010. Researchers estimated levels of two main air pollutants — particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide — at the home address of each participant and calculated a genetic risk score based on the patient’s genetic makeup to determine the likelihood of developing both asthma and COPD.

“We found that for every 10 micrograms per meter cubed higher exposure to particulate matter, the risk of developing COPD was 56% higher among asthmatic patients,” Dr. Cai said in a news release. “We also found that higher exposure to nitrogen dioxide increases the risk. In addition, if individuals carry a medium- to high-risk score, the risk of increased nitrogen dioxide exposure causing asthma to progress to COPD is even higher.”

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