Pollution is a real public health issue in France, but also in the world. According to the estimates of Public Health France, 48,000 premature deaths are believed to occur each year in France due to outdoor air pollution. A figure that represents 9% of the country’s mortality. It is proven that pollution has serious health consequences, such as immediate effects such as headaches, and long-term effects such as bronchiolitis and asthma. Harvard scientists have looked into its many effects, and found that outdoor air pollution can increase the risk of several cancers in the elderlyother than lung cancer.
Cancer risk: exposure to fine particles and nitrogen dioxide scrutinized
Published in the journal Environmental Epidemiology, the national US study was conducted by a team from the Harvard School of Public Health, otherwise known as the Harvard School of Public Health. The scientists based themselves on a cohort, covering several million people residing throughout the country, aged 65 or over. The data was collected between 2000 and 2016. None of the participants suffered from cancer for at least the first 10 years of the study period. To differentiate their research, the researchers created separate cohorts for each type of cancer: breast, colon, endometrium and prostate. Each cohort comprised between 2.2 million and 6.5 million subjects. Then, the researchers examined the risk of cancer under the effect of air pollutants via different subgroups, according to factors such as age, sex (for colorectal cancer only), ethnicity, BMI means and socioeconomic status.
Associations between exposure to pollution and the risk of developing the four cancers
After analysis, the researchers found that exposures to fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), over a period of 10 years, increase the risk of developing colorectal and prostate cancers. As for breast cancer, the results of the national analysis showed that exposure to nitrogen dioxide was associated with a lower risk, while the association with fine particles was inconclusive. Paradoxically, when the analysis was restricted to areas of the country where air pollution levels were well below national standards and where fine particle composition remained stable, the impact on the risk of breast cancer was higher. In parallel, a higher risk of endometrial cancer was detected during exposure to both pollutants, even at low pollution levels.
The researchers noted that even people in areas with seemingly clean air are not immune. And for good reason, they found substantial associations between exposure to the two pollutants and the risks of the four cancerseven at pollution levels below the guidelines of theWorld Health Organization (WHO), also recently updated.
Scientists call for tougher pollution regulations amid cancer risk
“Our results reveal the biological plausibility of air pollution as a crucial risk factor in the development of specific cancersbringing us closer to understanding the impact of air pollution on human health“, said in a communicated Yaguang Wei, author of the study and research fellow at the Department of Environmental Health. And to continue:To guarantee equitable access to clean air for all populations, we must precisely define the effects of air pollution and strive to reduce it.“
On the spur of the moment, Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology and lead author, commented: “The key message is that US air pollution standards are not enough to protect public health.“For the scientist, if pollutant regulatory standards do not become “a lot“more stringent“air pollution will continue to cause thousands of unnecessary cases of multiple cancers every year“.
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