r/science • u/Wagamaga • Oct 17 '22

RETRACTED AND REPLACED - Health Air pollution from factories and vehicles linked to worse outcomes for patients with lung disease. The team found that increasing levels of PM2.5 were linked to more severe disease at diagnosis, faster disease progression as measured by lung function decline and higher likelihood of dying sooner.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/967859
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u/Wagamaga Oct 17 '22

People with a disease characterized by lung scarring that has no obvious cause are more likely to die if they live in areas with higher levels of air pollution composed of chemicals associated with industrial sources and vehicular traffic, according to new research led by University of Pittsburgh scientists.

The study, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, is the first to link the chemical composition of fine particulate air pollution to worsened fibrotic interstitial lung disease (fILD) outcomes. It is also the largest study ever done to evaluate the impact of air pollution on these patients.

“Some people with these lung diseases have an expected lifespan from diagnosis to death of only a few years, and yet it’s a mystery as to why they developed the disease, why their lungs become so scarred,” said lead author Gillian Goobie, M.D., doctoral candidate in the Pitt School of Public Health’s Department of Human Genetics. “Our study points to air pollution – specifically pollutants from factories and vehicles – as potentially driving faster disease progression and premature death in these patients.”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2797557

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u/crusoe Oct 17 '22

Oh hey, guess what NEW recent illness just massively increased lung scarring!

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u/AllanfromWales1 MA | Natural Sciences | Metallurgy & Materials Science Oct 17 '22

Nothing I can see suggests they looked at confounding factors such as poverty, while there is a known relationship between poverty and pollution levels. Particularly since industrial pollutants were found to be worse than natural ones such as sea air.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '22

I am working with doctors but I’m pretty sure I’ve developed persistent sinus problems from the air pollution in Colorado. I suffer episodes of dizziness that began this year and they’re always preceded by sneezing fits and tightening in the sinus.