AGL 40.21 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (0.45%)
AIRLINK 127.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.05%)
BOP 6.67 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.91%)
CNERGY 4.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-3.26%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.68%)
DFML 41.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.42 (-1.01%)
DGKC 86.11 Increased By ▲ 0.32 (0.37%)
FCCL 32.56 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.22%)
FFBL 64.38 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (0.55%)
FFL 11.61 Increased By ▲ 1.06 (10.05%)
HUBC 112.46 Increased By ▲ 1.69 (1.53%)
HUMNL 14.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-1.73%)
KEL 5.04 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.28%)
KOSM 7.36 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.21%)
MLCF 40.33 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-0.47%)
NBP 61.08 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.05%)
OGDC 194.18 Decreased By ▼ -0.69 (-0.35%)
PAEL 26.91 Decreased By ▼ -0.60 (-2.18%)
PIBTL 7.28 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-6.79%)
PPL 152.68 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.1%)
PRL 26.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-1.35%)
PTC 16.14 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.74%)
SEARL 85.70 Increased By ▲ 1.56 (1.85%)
TELE 7.67 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-3.64%)
TOMCL 36.47 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.36%)
TPLP 8.79 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.5%)
TREET 16.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.82 (-4.64%)
TRG 62.74 Increased By ▲ 4.12 (7.03%)
UNITY 28.20 Increased By ▲ 1.34 (4.99%)
WTL 1.34 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-2.9%)
BR100 10,086 Increased By 85.5 (0.85%)
BR30 31,170 Increased By 168.1 (0.54%)
KSE100 94,764 Increased By 571.8 (0.61%)
KSE30 29,410 Increased By 209 (0.72%)

By photographing tiny blood vessels in a person's eyes, researchers have found a way to link exposure to air pollution with a higher risk of heart disease, a study published on November 30 said.
"New digital photos of the retina revealed that otherwise healthy people exposed to high levels of air pollution had narrower retinal arterioles, an indication of a higher risk of heart disease," said the study in PLoS Medicine.
A person who was exposed to low level of pollution in a short time period showed the microvascular - or extremely tiny - blood vessels "of someone three years older," it said.
Someone who faced longer-term exposure to high levels of pollution had the blood vessels of someone seven years older, it said. "Such a change would translate to a three percent increase in heart disease for a woman living with high levels of air pollution as compared to a woman in a cleaner area," said Sara Adar, research assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
While the study is not the first to link heart disease and pollution, it is the first to examine the relationship between pollution and microvasculature in humans, Adar said.
The study examined retinal vessels because they are representative of tiny vessels seen elsewhere in the body but are easily viewed without surgery. Although the narrowing in the vessels amounted to about 1/100s of a hair's width, "this could have important health consequences if all of the microvasculature in the body is affected in the same way," Adar said.
A total of 4,607 people aged 45 to 84 with no history of heart disease took part in the study. Researchers took digital retinal photographs of their blood vessels and measured air pollution levels in their homes for two years prior to the eye exams. They also checked pollution levels on the day before the eye exam to calculate short-term exposure.
"Even though pollution levels in the study were generally below the level that the EPA considers acceptable, these levels still appeared to negatively affect the tiny blood vessels," the study said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010

Comments

Comments are closed.