Fine particles in traffic pollution tied to lower good cholesterol
Source: REUTERS
(Reuters Health) - People who live near sources of heavy traffic exhaust may be at higher risk of heart disease because the fine particles in this type of pollution lower levels of good cholesterol needed for healthy blood flow, a U.S. study suggests.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol helps curb the odds of heart disease by purging blood vessels of debris and lowering levels of triglycerides - dangerous fats that can make blood thicker, stickier and more prone to clots.
Researchers studied 6,654 adults and found people exposed to higher levels of fine and ultrafine particles in traffic pollution tended to have lower levels of HDL cholesterol in their blood.
However, this was a fairly small effect - it wasnt a dramatic lowering of HDL - so I dont think this is a huge cause for alarm beyond what we already know about the dangers of air pollution, said lead study author Griffith Bell of the University of Washington School of Public Health in St. Louis.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cholesterol-particle-pollution-idUSKBN17K23Z?utm_campaign=trueAnthem
IronLionZion
(45,563 posts)I need to move.
KT2000
(20,591 posts)on the health effects of traffic pollution and particulate matter. Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health has many articles on the subject. It causes very serious problems.
Enter traffic pollution in the Search box: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/
keithbvadu2
(36,962 posts)Ann Coulter says exposure to low levels of radiation is good for you, reduces cancer risk