Air pollution can trigger blood clots: study

May 26, 2008

A research in the United States has

suggested that smog from traffic and factories can trigger the

formation of potentially deadly blood clots. The Archives of

Internal Medicine report said for every 10 microgrammes per square

metre increase in small particulates, the risk of developing deep vein

thrombosis (DVT) went up by 70 per cent.

"Our study signals that we have to work a little harder,"

said Joel Schwartz, the lead author of the study from Harvard

University. He said his research adds weight to calls for tighter

pollution control laws.

The blood clot-pollution link was discovered following a

study of some 2000 people by the Harvard School of Public Health in the

region of Lombardy in Italy.

Researchers found that thrombosis risk was 70 per cent

greater in areas where the annual concentration of pollutants, such as

particles of soot from car exhausts, was around a quarter above average

values seen in Milan, the largest city in the area, the New Scientist

online said.

Deep vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms in the

lower leg or thigh. If a clot breaks loose, it can travel to the lungs

and cause breathing difficulties and even death.

Numerous studies have linked the pollution, which comes

from car exhausts and power plants, to increased risk of heart attack.

Last year, a study in Boston suggested that the fumes could be delaying

childrens mental development.

Linking pollution to climate change, scientists have even

warned that it could soon slide out of control, with concentration of

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surging to a record high.

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