Skip to main content

Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollutants Linked to Incidence of Stroke

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 -- There is a significant association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and the incidence and mortality rate of stroke, according to a review published online Sept. 27 in Neurology.

Ahmad Toubasi, M.D., and Thuraya N. Al-Sayegh, M.D., from the University of Jordan in Amman, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the correlation between short-term exposure to air pollutants and stroke. A total of 110 observational studies, with 18,035,408 cases of ischemic stroke, were included in the analysis. Short-term exposure was defined as exposure within five days of stroke onset.

The researchers found that stroke incidence was significantly associated with an increase in the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter with diameters of less than 1.0 µm, less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and less than 10 µm (PM10; relative risks, 1.28, 1.05, 1.26, 1.15, 1.09, 1.15, and 1.14, respectively). In addition, significant associations were seen for increases in the concentration of NO2, SO2, PM2.5, and PM10 with increased stroke mortality (relative risks, 1.33, 1.60, 1.09, and 1.02, respectively).

"There is a strong and significant association between air pollution and the occurrence of stroke as well as death from stroke within five days of exposure," Toubasi said in a statement. "This highlights the importance of global efforts to create policies that reduce air pollution. Doing so may reduce the number of strokes and their consequences."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted September 2023

Read this next

Large Language Models May Aid Emergency Department Triage

TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Large language models (LLMs) could enhance emergency department triage workflows, according to a study published online May 7 in JAMA Network...

Neighborhood Inequity Tied to More People Living With Vision Difficulty, Blindness

TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Residential measures of inequity are associated with a greater number of individuals living with vision difficulty and blindness (VDB), according to a...

Elite Running Tied to Longer Life Expectancy

TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Sub-four-minute mile runners have greater longevity than the general population, with results dating back as far as the 1950s, according to a study...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.