Researchers from University College London (UCL) have found that even low exposure to air pollution in England, Scotland and Wales affects the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
AMD is the leading cause of irreversible blindness among people over 50 in high-income countries. AMD is associated with the loss of central vision – which is necessary for reading, performing finely detailed tasks and recognizing faces – and the biggest risk factors for the disease are genetics, age and smoking.
The team studied data from 115,954 people aged 40-69, who participated in the UK Biobank, a large study among half a million people focusing on the medical diagnoses and biological measurements of participants.
Using eye measurements and data from questionnaires, experts studied those who said they did have macular degeneration and did not, and then compared the results with the amount of pollutants estimated at their residential address.
“People living in a more polluted area report macular degeneration more frequently,” Paul Foster, a professor of glaucoma studies and ophthalmic epidemiology at UCL and senior author of the article, told CNN.
Foster said the main pollutants associated with macular degeneration are PM2.5 particles, nitrogen dioxide and oxide nitrogen.
PM2.5 is a small contaminant of particles that can move deep into the lungs when inhaled and enter the bloodstream. The particles, which consist of dust, dirt, soot or smoke, originate from construction sites, unpaved roads, lands, smoke or fire and may contain various chemicals. But most particles are a mixture of pollutants from power stations, industrial and vehicle emissions.
Nitric oxides refer to nitrogen oxide gas and nitrogen dioxide gas, as well as other gas oxides that contain nitrogen. The main source of these gases in urban areas are exhaust fumes for motor vehicles, indoor gas stoves and kerosene heaters.
Foster told CNN that the contamination by the lungs penetrates through the body, and that it causes apparent damage due to high blood flow in the eye wall.
“These are people who inhale the stuff, and it goes down into the lungs, is absorbed into the blood, carried around in the blood,” he said.
“There is definitely a link between the less privileged members of society and a greater risk of getting this condition,” he added.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the World Health Organization (WHO) approximately seven million people are killed annually worldwide. infections.
Chris Inglehearn, a professor of molecular ophthalmology at the University of Leeds, said the UCL research was similar to a study from Taiwan in 2019. “Both show a link between air pollution and age-related macular degeneration, a common cause of blindness in older people, “he told the Science Media Center.
“The profile of pollutants that the two groups looked at is slightly different, but the source is the same, combustion. Of course, correlation proves no cause, but the fact that these two independent studies draw similar conclusions gives greater confidence that the link that they make is real, ‘said Inglehearn, who was not involved in the UCL study.
Inglehearn said such studies “provide further evidence linking air pollution to adverse effects on human health.”