THIS IS WHERE DISCOVERIES ARE BORN!

A team of researchers from the Department of Invasive Cardiology at the Medical University of Bialystok in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Cardiology and Structural Heart Diseases at the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice have published results of a study on the impact of air pollution on the incidence of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) on Environmental Research. The study assessed this relationship in two populations living in vastly different environments - Bialystok, the capital of the "green" Podlaskie Voivodeship and the "notorious" smog-ridden Silesia.

 

According to WHO data, more than 30,000 people die prematurely in Poland due to air pollution. Doctors performed an analysis for ten-year period (2008-2017). Daily concentrations of particulate matter were taken into account: PM2,5, PM10, as well as NO2, SO2, and CO2. Days with exceeded daily limit of PM2,5 in the capital of Upper Silesia accounted for half of the studied period, while in the capital of Podlasie the limit was exceeded in every fourth day. Days with exceeded PM10 in Katowice amounted for 27.6 percent, while in Białystok for 9.1 percent. A key finding of the study is that the occurrence of acute coronary syndromes in both populations is influenced by air pollution. Researchers believe that smog is the main reason for the difference in the number of heart attacks between Katowice and Bialystok - there are 3 times more heart attacks there. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of air pollution results in progression of atherosclerotic lesions. However, short-term increases in concentrations of particulate matter and gases act as a trigger, leading to destabilization of atherosclerotic plaque and acute coronary syndromes. In the short-term, the same increases in dust and gas concentrations induced nearly 10% more hospitalizations for acute coronary syndromes. Such effects were observed in Bialystok as well as in Katowice, but in Katowice they were greater, more distant in time, concerning STEMI and NSTEMI as well as beyond particulate matter - NO2 and SO2. The main reason for such differences is chronic exposure to air pollutants and more toxic composition of smog associated with industrial emissions in Katowice.

 

Link to the publication: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935121004485?via%3Dihub