Study: Pollution May Increase Some Stroke Risk

By Julie Anderson

A study published last month in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association suggests one more reason to avoid air pollution.

The study, which looked at nine cities, indicated that the risk of ischemic stroke — the most common type, caused by blood clots — was 1 percent higher on days with relatively high air pollution compared with days with relatively low air pollution levels.

Pollution levels did not affect hemorrhagic strokes, those caused by bleeding in the brain.

Gregory Wellenius, a cardiology researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, noted that the effect of air pollution on ischemic events appears to be small. The concern is that everyone in the cities is exposed.

“So while the relative risk may be small, the absolute risk in terms of excess numbers of strokes can be quite high, especially when you realize that someone in the United States has a stroke every 45 seconds,” he said in a statement.

Wellenius and his co-authors evaluated the association between daily levels of airborne particles smaller than 10 micrometers and hospital admissions for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke among Medicare recipients in Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Cleveland; New Haven, Conn.; Detroit; Minneapolis; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.

The particles they focused on include those from car and truck exhausts, power plants and refineries.

The study used particle measurements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency covering more than 37,000 days in the nine cities as well as measurements of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

Medicare data for the nine cities indicated 155,503 hospital admissions for ischemic stroke during the study period and 19,314 admissions for hemorrhagic stroke.

Tip of the week

Keeping a baby’s pacifier clean and germ-free is tough in the best of times. It becomes a particular worry during cold and flu season.

The Keep-ItKleen pacifier was designed to help. It comes with a built-in shield that flips closed the instant it drops out of a baby’s mouth, preventing the pacifier portion from hitting the floor.

Youngsters can easily open the shield to reinsert the pacifier, said spokesman Grant Landis, whose 17-month-old son uses the KeepIt- Kleen. And it won’t pinch little fingers.

The Keep-It-Kleen, developed by two moms, retails for $4.99 and can be purchased online at www.razbaby.com or in retail stores nationwide.

Compiled by staff writer Julie Anderson.