Environmental pollution makes human bones more brittle, according to a study.

New study led by a biomedical scientist Didier Prada belonging Columbia University in New York and recently published in Lancet indicates that environmental pollution and, above all, air pollution have another adverse effect on human health. The report highlights that this situation makes people’s bones more fragile.

The research team behind the study noted that faster bone loss due to osteoporosis also caused air pollution. This chronic skeletal disease degenerates the bones until they become more brittle and more prone to breakage. To do this, they collected data on a diverse group of 9,041 postmenopausal women over a period of 6 years.

Pollution is even worse than previously thought

The authors of the study note, Bone mineral density in his sample, a surrogate measure of osteoporosis and risk of bone fracture. After that, they examined parameters such as nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide And PM10 particles – pollution particles smaller than 10 micrometers – in the homes of the women who participated in the report.

what did they find Didier and his team found that as pollution increases, bone mineral density decreases in all bones in the body, including bones in the neck, spine, and hip. “Our results confirm that poor air quality may be a risk factor for bone loss, independent of socioeconomic or demographic factors.”said the scientist.

The level of air pollution is critical

Team’s Past Efforts Didier also showed that there is a relationship between high levels air pollution and an increased risk of bone fractures or bone loss over time. This new study adds more information about specific postmenopausal women and different combinations of air pollution. The authors highlight the following:

“The study highlights the link between nitrogen and spine. A 10 percent increase in this type of pollution over 3 years was associated with an average annual loss of bone mineral density in the lumbar spine of 1.22 percent, twice the value calculated by the aging team. This is most likely due to bone cell death caused by mechanisms such as oxidative stress, in which toxic molecules from the environment damage the body.”

Although the researchers indicate that they cannot confirm these data, it is clear that the connection exists. In accordance with Didier, “For the first time, we have evidence that nitrogen oxidesin particular, are important contributors to bone damage, and that the lumbar spine is one of the places most susceptible to this damage.”. However, more work is needed to confirm this hypothesis until it is confirmed.

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