Air pollution causes lung cancer, worsens heart failure, studies find

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/air-pollution-causes-lung-cancer-worsens-heart-failure-studies-find-6C10584685

Maggie Fox, Senior Writer NBC News
July 9, 2013

Air pollution can cause lung cancer and seems to worsen heart failure, researchers reported in two studies released Tuesday.

Both show the more pollution, the more disease. One study looked at lung cancer cases across Europe; the other looked at hospitalization for heart failure in several countries, including the United States.

Dr. Ole Raaschou-Nielsen of the Danish Cancer Society Research Center said they couldn’t find a “safe” level of air pollution. The more pollution, the higher the risk, even at legally accepted limits. “The association between particulate matter air pollution and the risk for lung cancer persisted also at concentrations below the existing European Union air quality limit values,” they wrote.

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A person’s risk of developing lung cancer rose 18 percent for every extra five micrograms of soot per cubic meter of air, they found. While people who smoke may also live in more polluted areas, the large scope of the studies showed that even so, pollution can raise even a non-smoker’s risk of cancer.

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A person’s risk of developing lung cancer rose 18 percent for every extra five micrograms of soot per cubic meter of air, they found. While people who smoke may also live in more polluted areas, the large scope of the studies showed that even so, pollution can raise even a non-smoker’s risk of cancer.

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