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| Retrieved from: livinginatoxicworld.wordpress.com |
Every
day we breathe in all sorts of different particles that are floating in our
air. Some of those particles can be quite hazardous in the short term and we
are quickly made aware of it. There are particles, however, that we are
potentially breathing in that can cause long term hazardous effects as well. One
is increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
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| Retrieved from: murrayvillechiropractic.com |
New
research is showing an additional benefit to patients who are prescribed
statins. Statins are generally prescribed to lower patient cholesterol levels
and reduce the risk for cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. In
the United States, approximately 1 in 4 Americans age 45 and older is currently
on a statin such as Lipitor (Bienkowski, 2014). Studies have found that statins
may also reduce inflammation caused by breathing in airborne particles that can
increase the risk for cardiovascular disease.
A
study conducted by O'Neill et al. at the University of Michigan (2006) found
that statins may have additional beneficial effects. The study suggested that
airborne particles 2.5 micrometers and smaller, due to the burning of fossil
fuels, can lead to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. It is the inflammation
from breathing these particles in that is the major contributing factor. The
study found that participants on statins had reduced inflammation compared to participants
that were not and that statins reduced the effects of air pollution on cardiac
function (O'Neill et al., 2006).
Another
study conducted by Ostro et al. (2014) examined nearly 2,000 women in the United
States and monitored their exposure to particles in the air also measured as any
particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers. The study found that chronic
exposure led to an increase in the presence of C-reactive protein (CRP), an
inflammatory marker for cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, there was no
correlation between chronic airborne particle exposure and increased presence
of CRP in patients who were taking statins (Ostro et al., 2014).
This
is however not enough evidence for statins to be prescribed as an
anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular disease, “cure all” for patients exposed to
chronic airborne particles. More research is needed but it is enough evidence
to begin developing studies specially designed around this instead of finding a
correlation in an existing study. It is also not clear however, if other
anti-inflammatory drugs may have similar effects and thus needs to be
investigated further (Bienkowski, 2014).
References:
Bienkowski,
B. (2014, November 24). Statins may protect people from air pollution.
Retrieved
November
30, 2014, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/statins-may-protect-people-from-air-pollution/?WT.mc_id=SA_Twitter
O'Neill, M.S., et al., (2007). Air
pollution and inflammation in type 2 diabetes: A mechanism for susceptibility.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 64(6), 373-379. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/19525147?accountid=12598
Ostro,
B., et al. (2014). Chronic PM2.5 exposure and inflammation: Determining
sensitive
subgroups
in mid-life women. Environmental Research, 132, 168-175.
Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935114000899
Hi Will,
ReplyDeleteYour post goes to prove exactly how holistic cardiovascular disease is!
Furthermore, your blog post lends credence to the already well-established fact that pollution is associated with disease.
In this paper (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637679/), the authors found that chronic exposure studies suggest relatively broad susceptibility to cumulative effects of long-term repeated exposure to fine particulate pollution, resulting in substantive estimates of population average loss of life expectancy in highly polluted environments.
What implications do you think this will have for people living in more industrial areas (the East Coast, for example), and to what extent do you think statins will be prescribed simply as a preventative measure?
This is a really interesting blog post Will. I am super curious to see how this new finding will pan out - especially in super over populated areas in Asia, where the air pollution is crazy bad. Also, was there anything in your research to suggest that the statins reverse damage or that they just help in reducing inflammation.
ReplyDeleteLastly, if statins are being looked at to reduce cardiovascular impairment, I wonder if they could also be useful in combatting lung diseases such as COPD. This train of thought led me to do some quick research on COPD and statin usage, where I found host of new findings on the subject matter. I think that it is very interesting how modern medicine continues to grow and how we are continuing to find many useful ways to new medications.