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Air Pollution Tied to Hospitalizations for Wide Range of Illnesses

Reuters

   Older adults who are exposed to tiny particles in air pollution for
   just a day or two are more likely to be hospitalized for a wide variety
   of common health problems, a U.S. study suggests.

   Researchers focused on so-called PM 2.5, a mixture of solid particles
   and liquid droplets smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter that can
   include dust, dirt, soot and smoke. They confirmed previously-known
   links between short-term exposure to PM 2.5 and an increased risk of
   hospitalization and death from heart and lung diseases, diabetes, and
   clots in the large veins of the legs. They also found new links between
   short-term exposure and increased hospitalizations for conditions
   ranging from sepsis to kidney failure.

   The study team examined hospital data for Medicare patients nationwide
   from 2000 to 2012. They focused on 214 different health conditions, and
   looked at data on average air pollution levels the day before and the
   day of each hospitalization based on patients' home zip codes.

   "We discovered several previously unknown but common diseases among
   older adults, such as fluid and electrolyte disorders, septicemia,
   anemia, urinary tract infections, and renal failure, even when daily
   PM2.5 concentrations were below the current World Health Organization
   (WHO) air quality guidelines," said lead study author Yaguang Wei, an
   environmental health researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of
   Public Health in Boston.

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