Frequent exposure to air pollution, specifically to fine particles, causes irreversible damage to bone health, generating lower levels of bone mass (even with inconclusive results). However, it is proven that they do generate diseases such as bone pain, lung cancer, stroke and even respiratory diseases, which are scientifically proven.
According to a study that was carried out in India, led by the Institute of Global Health of Barcelona (ISGlobal), an association between poor health in the bone system and air pollution has been discovered. The new study was done by the CHAI Project, led by the institute that analyzed 3,700 people from 28 villages outside the city of Hyderabad, in southern India.
Those responsible for the study developed locally to measure the exposure of open-air in the residence to air pollution by suspended particles and black carbon. In addition, experts associated the risk of developing osteoporosis, which causes a decrease in bone mass density.
Absorptiometry
The people evaluated had low levels of bone mass. This was made known by a special type of radiography that measures bone density, called double energy X-ray absorptiometry and calibrates bone mass in the lumbar spine and the hip on the left side.
Inhalation of contaminating particles could lead to bone loss by minerals, through oxidative stress and inflammation caused by air pollution.
«Our findings add to the growing evidence indicating that particulate air pollution is relevant to bone health in a wide range of air pollution levels, including levels found in high and low and middle-income countries», said Cathryn Tonne, coordinator of the study and the CHAI project.