Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: Increased risk for women with diabetes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/bawh-apa112415.php

Public Release: 25-Nov-2015
Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: Increased risk for women with diabetes
Nationwide study of women reveals that those with diabetes are most susceptible to the adverse cardiovascular risks posed by exposure to air pollution
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Air pollution is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and some people may be more susceptible to its effects than others. Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health used data from a nationwide study of nurses to look for factors that made people more vulnerable to the effects of long-term air pollution exposure. One factor in particular stood out to the researchers: type 2 diabetes. The team reports its findings in a paper published November 25 in the Journal of the American Heart Association Report.

"We didn't expect diabetes to be the strongest factor in determining susceptibility," said study lead author Jaime E. Hart, Sc.D., an epidemiologist in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at BWH and the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School. "We looked at age, family history of cardiovascular disease, weight, smoking status and region of the country but diabetes was the most consistent across diseases and across different size fractions of particulate matter."

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