According to a new study, particle radioactivity, which is a characteristic of air pollution, enhances particulate matter toxicity and increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Previous research uncovered that particulate matter causes cardiovascular disease and death.
It has also been confirmed that particulate matter exposure is a modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factor.
In 2021, along with three other leading cardiovascular organisations, the American Heart Association urged the medical community and health authorities to mitigate the impact of air pollution on people’s health.
In their statement, they referred to the fact that an estimated 6.7 million deaths in 2019, which also equals to 12 per cent of all deaths worldwide, were attributable to household and outdoor air pollution.
Roughly half of these deaths were due to cardiovascular disease.
Air pollution is also known for increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, diabetes and respiratory diseases.
Particle radioactivity is a characteristic of particulate matter that reflects radon, which primarily comes from radon gas, which is radioactive, colourless and odourless gas.
The particle radioactivity occurs naturally as a product of radioactive decay of uranium found in soil and rocks.
From this, radon moves into the atmosphere, decaying to alpha-, beta- and gamma radiation emitting isotopes.
Study author, Shun Dong says: “We know that particulate matter is very small particles in the air that can be inhaled and cause many health problems.
“However, little is known about which physical, chemical or biological properties of particulate matter fuel its toxicity.
“We studied gross beta-activity, a property of fine particulate matter that is a result of radon that attaches to particles and makes them radioactive, resulting in particle radioactivity.
“When inhaled, these very small particles penetrate deeply into the lungs and enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body.”
For the study, the researchers uses spatiotemporal predictions of gross beta-activity, which is a way to use different variables across time and space, to provide refined predictions of exposure.
They examined health records from more than 700,000 non-accidental dests in Massachusetts between 2001 and 2015, and then estimated how long term gross beta-activity exposure impacts death from cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack and death from all non-accidental causes.
Study findings
Chronic particle radioactivity and particulate matter exposure were similarly associated with increased risks of death from total cardiovascular disease, stroke or heart attack and all causes of non-accidental death.
Based on the middle 50 per cent of the data spread, particle radioactivity exposure alone was associated with a 16 per cent increased risk of death from heart attack and an increased 11 per cent of death from stroke.
Again, based on the middle 50 per cent of the data spread, particulate matter exposure alone increased the risk of death from heart attack by 6 per cent and death from stroke by 11 per cent.
Dong says: “The risk of death from cardiovascular disease, heart attack or stroke and all causes due to PM2.5 was higher and, therefore, more toxic when gross beta-activity levels were higher.
“These findings suggest that particle radioactivity increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and enhances the damage from particulate matter.
“This must be further investigated and may lead to targeted, cost-effective air quality regulations.”
A limitation of this study was that the research was based on information from one state (Massachusetts) therefore, the results may not be generalisable to elsewhere.
