Beware! Air pollution can increase
risk of stroke, anxiety
Here is another reason why
you should not use your car too often and consider buying a cycle instead.
According to a new research, air pollution can increase your risk of stroke and
anxiety.
In a systematic review and meta-analysis, a team of
researchers from Edinburgh University looked at the association between
short-term air pollution exposure and stroke-related hospital admissions and
deaths.
In total, they analysed 103 observational studies
that covered 28 countries across the world. The results, published in The BMJ,
showed an association between carbon monoxide (1.5 percent increased risk per 1
ppm), sulphur dioxide (1.9 percent per 10 ppb) and nitrogen dioxide (1.4
percent per 10 ppb) and stroke-related hospital admissions or death.
Both PM 2.5 and PM 10 were associated with hospital
admissions or deaths due to stroke, by 1.1 percent and 0.3 percent per 10
Aug/m3 increment, respectively.
The first day of air pollution exposure was found
to have the strongest association. Low to middle-income countries experienced
the strongest associations compared to high-income countries.
Only 20 percent of analysed studies were from low-
to middle-income countries — mostly mainland China — despite these countries
having the highest burden of stroke.
‘These results suggest a need for policy changes to
reduce exposure in such highly polluted regions,’ concluded the authors.
A second study from researchers at The Johns
Hopkins and Harvard Universities examined the association between particulate
air pollution and anxiety.
Exposure to particulate matter was linked to a
higher risk of anxiety. PM2.5 was found to have a significant association with
anxiety.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
27.03.2015
Are red
blood cell traits responsible for your child’s risk of malaria?
According to the scientists
at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the risk
of your child to suffer from malaria is linked to red blood cell traits. These
findings can act as a major breakthrough in the field of medicine as they might
help in achieving future targets for new malaria drugs and vaccines.
What were the
study results?
Researchers found that a genetic condition known as
homozygous X-linked G6PD deficiency correlated with a reduced risk of malaria
in girls only. Meanwhile, HbC-trait, in which the body makes an abnormal
hemoglobin called hemoglobin C, appeared to increase malaria risk in children.
Scientists hope this study will lead to further research into the molecular
mechanisms of the malaria-protective effects of red blood cell variants.
Does sickle
cell anemia protect against malaria?
Specifically, the sickle-cell trait HbAS, which
means an individual carries only one defective gene that causes the production
of abnormal hemoglobin, appeared to correlate with protection from malaria in
early childhood and reduced the density of malaria parasites in children who
did become ill.
How was the
study carried out?
From 2008 to 2011, NIAID scientists and their
collaborators followed 1,543 children ranging from 6 months to 17 years old in
Mali, a West African country with a high incidence of childhood malaria.
Throughout the study period, the children experienced a total of 4,091 episodes
of malaria. Investigators observed that several red blood cell
variants–inherited disorders associated with abnormal forms or decreased
production of the oxygen-carrying blood protein haemoglobin — were associated
with malaria risk.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
27.03.2015
All change is not growth as all movement is not
forward
Ellen Glasgow
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