The Biochar Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Elderly’

A study of more than 11.5 million Medicare patients aged over 65 has concluded that even short-term exposure to fine particle air pollution significantly increases the risk of contracting cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The study was conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, itself a department within the National Institute of Health.

This is the largest study ever conducted of the effect of fine particle air pollution and heart and lung disease, not only in the country but in the world. Fine particle air pollution is typically caused through power plant emissions or fuel exhaust emissions. These microscopic particles the size of dust or soot particles and around 30 times less than the thickness of a human hair, are able to lodge and accumulate deep within the respiratory system. Over time, lung function decreases while pre-existing conditions such as asthma are inflamed and aggravated.

It is not surprising that counties on the heavily industrialized Eastern seaboard have the highest rates of fine particle air pollution and so, the highest rates of lung and heart disease. Any location where there is heavy use of fossil fuels reports a substantial increase in the number of patients suffering from heart and lung conditions.

The extensive study delivered the proof that even small increases in the levels of fine particle air pollutants gave rise to a significantly higher level of hospital admissions for heart failure, heart and vascular conditions, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and infections of the respiratory system. Patients over the age of 75 years of age are particularly vulnerable and experience significantly higher rates of admissions for these conditions than the rest of the population.

Funding for this huge research study was provided by the U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The research was conducted by a team at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the results were finally published in March, 2006 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The EPA’s Aerometric Information Retrieval Service provides a nationwide network of data collection locations. This retrieval network was used to collect the data on fine air particle concentrations from over 200 counties scattered across the country and provided data over a three-year period.

The EPA is involved because it has a primary function of controlling environmental pollution through the setting of standards and guidelines. The study demonstrates that there is a strong need for the establishment of air quality guidelines, particularly to safeguard the health of the elderly. The study particularly demonstrates that even minor fine air pollution levels, well below those of the existing national standards, are causing significant health implications for patients.

The question as to whether fine air pollution causes increased incidence of heart and lung diseases is now clearly established, however why are such minor levels of fine air pollution causing such high levels of disease? This in turn will lead to what can be done to counter the harmful effects of fine particle air pollution.

A new study has demonstrated the strong correlation between air pollution and air quality and the level of costs incurred in by elderly patients seeking medical attention. The study took in millions of Medicare records of both in- and out-patients between 1989 and 1991 all the patients were white and aged between 65 and 84 years.

The study was conducted by Professor Victor Fuchs, professor emeritus at Stanford University and assisted by Sarah Franks, a doctoral student at Berkeley, University of California. The study results were published in the November/December issue of Health Affairs, and the conclusive results demonstrate a direct linkage between air pollution and the level of health, particularly respiratory health in elderly patients. More than this, the study demonstrates that investment in improving air quality and reducing pollution leads to direct cost savings which are substantial.

At a time when there is a great debate centered around healthcare, and especially who will be footing the bill, the report clearly demonstrates that pollution control provides an excellent opportunity for improving the nation’s health, reducing the cost of healthcare and provides opportunities to improve the quality of life for the elderly.

Factors taken into consideration in the study, which took in 183 metropolitan areas, included regional geographical variations, per capita income, educational achievement, ethnic breakdown of the sample location, weight levels (particularly obesity levels) and cigarette usage.

There are clear differences between urban and rural areas within the study samples; metropolitan areas also varied widely in the quality of the air and pollution levels the study demonstrates that there is only a small difference in rates of surgery between high and low pollution sample locations, however this picture radically changes when medical intervention short of surgery is assessed.

Outpatient care has a 7% difference between high and low air pollution locations, but when we look at inpatient care the difference increases dramatically to 19% more people seeking treatment in the more highly polluted sample locations.

Population size and density has a very significant impact on air quality Florida and Blue Sky country (centered upon Montana) has the cleanest air but Florida had twice the outpatient treatment rate (this being a factor of the higher population size and density). Hospital admissions were found to be at their highest in the Deep South and South Western areas of the country.

Overall, differences in admissions to hospital for respiratory conditions between low and high air pollution locations are relatively low; the data must be interpreted with care because of the small difference. Nevertheless, there is a clear relationship between air pollution and the need for increased medical intervention for the elderly. As the authors state in the conclusion of the report, the results do not provide, “absolute proof” that high pollution areas result in higher spending on medical care, however the data results are highly persuasive.

Irrespective of whether the study constitutes “absolute proof” or not, there is a clear need for greater outpatient medical treatment for those living in highly populated and highly polluted areas. The correlation between high pollution levels and population levels also demonstrates just who is actually responsible for creating the problem with air quality in the first instance.