Calcified vessels due to noise and particulate matter

Noise and particulate matter increase the risk of cardiovascular disease

20/04/2013

Researchers have long suspected that prolonged noise and particulate pollution significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke. Individual scientific work pointed to this again and again. A long-term study with volunteers living in the Ruhr area was able to show for the first time how strong the influence of harmful factors is. The study monitored about 4,800 adults. The result: fine dust and noise increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Fine dust damages humans in a special way. What's new is that the tiny particles damage not only the lungs, but also the cardiovascular system. The particles may come from natural sources or may be due to environmental pollution. Especially in cities, the main sources of particulate pollution are cars and industrial companies.

Noise and pollutants increase risk of heart disease and strokes
Especially bad is the noise in the night. In addition, especially small fine dust particles up to 2.5 microns are responsible for the calcification and hardening of the aorta, as described by heart specialist Prof. Dr. med. Hagen Kälsch said on the sidelines of a congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Rome. At the Cardiologists Congress, the current findings of the study will be presented. "These two forms of traffic help explain why people living close to the arteries have a higher risk of vascular deposits," said the cardiologist. People who live on a busy road have a higher risk of premature death.

The researchers considered not only the usual risk factors such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure in their projections, the previously unknown factors noise and pollution. According to the researcher Kälsch, „So far, little attention has been paid to this“.

Long-term study with 4800 older subjects
The results presented are based on a long-term study, which was carried out with a high number of test subjects for about ten years in the Ruhr district cities of Essen, Mülheim and Bochum. Using data from 4,800 citizens, the researchers want to use different methods of analysis to improve the prediction of cardiac death and myocardial infarction. In the study, the scientific team evaluated the CT images of the average sixty-year-old volunteers and placed them in a context to the fine dust evaluations and noise measurements in their residential area.

To realize a differentiation, be „the already known known risk factors as well as the socioeconomic data were included in the analysis“. Nevertheless, it could be proved, „that the road load factors independently increase the risk of atherosclerosis, "says the researcher.

Arteriosclerosis, or popularly called arteriosclerosis, is the calcification and hardening of vessels. According to current medical opinion, the degree of calcification is considered a hazard analysis for cardiovascular events such as stroke or heart attack. A publication of the study results is still pending.

Other studies came to similar findings
Researchers from the Danish Cancer Society had already found in a similar study in 2011 that ongoing noise in the elderly increases the risk of stroke by 19 percent. „Per 10 decibels of noise, the risk of stroke increased by 27 percent“. The louder the noise, the more pronounced the likelihood of having a stroke. A US study (Diabetic Diabetes) found that women living near major roads are 20 percent more likely to develop type II diabetes. The pilot study in the Ruhr area observed frequent diabetes cases on busy roads. (Sb)

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