A recent study conducted by a group of researchers from scientific institutions in the United States, led by Columbia University (New York), has shown that the increase in levels of air pollutants is associated with the damage to bone tissuespecifically in the lumbar spine, between postmenopausal women.
Air pollution occurs when the Earth’s atmosphere is affected by the gas emission and dust particles, which end up having a negative impact on human health due to its harmful effects. Among the most common air pollutants are nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM10).
Nitrogen oxides are primarily responsible for the reduction in bone mineral density, the risk of osteoporosis, and fractures in older women. These pollutants are absorbed into the human body through the respiratory tract and are emitted mainly by vehicles and electricity generating plants.
In the recent study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, it was determined that nitrous oxides are the main contributors to the reduction of bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. This conclusion was reached after estimating the daily concentrations of the air pollution (NO, NO2, SO2, and PM10) based on the geolocation of the homes of approximately 161,808 postmenopausal American women belonging to different ethnic groups.
Likewise, it was mentioned that this information was obtained from 40 clinical centers distributed throughout the country between October 1993 and December 1998. The ages of the women ranged from 50 to 79 years.
Some of the study participants underwent a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan to obtain bone mineral density measurements at the hip, lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total body.
The results indicated that the age effects in these women showed different rates of reduction by anatomical site, with annual reductions of 0.64% in bone mineral density of the hip, 0.59% in the femoral neck, 0.35% in the total body and 0.18 % in bone mineral density of the lumbar spine.
The magnitude of the effects of nitrous oxides on lumbar spine bone mineral density represents an annual reduction of about 1.22%, almost double the annual effects of age at any of the anatomical sites evaluated.
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Scientist Diddier Prada, who participated in the study, explained that “our findings confirm that poor air quality may be a factor in risk of bone lossregardless of socioeconomic or demographic factors.
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