Health Risk of Particle Pollution Studied
Posted on: Thursday, 15 May 2008, 21:00 CDT
A U.S. study found no evidence of a link between daily changes in coarse particles and the number of hospital admissions for respiratory diseases.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore conducted the largest nationwide study on the acute health effects of coarse particle pollution. Coarse particles are airborne pollutants that fall between 2.5 and 10 microns in diameter.
These particles are larger than fine particles -- less than 2.5 microns -- and are produced by processes such as mechanical grinding, windblown dust and agriculture.
The researchers examined associations between daily changes in hospital admissions rates for cardiovascular and respiratory outcomes, and daily changes in coarse and fine particulate matter levels for 108 urban U.S. counties, involving 12 million people enrolled in Medicare from 1999 to 2005.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found evidence of an association with hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases. After taking into account fine particle levels, the association with coarse particles remained but was no longer statistically significant, the study said.
Source: United Press International
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