Are women more affected than men by air pollution? According to an American study, the answer is yes, since nitrogen oxides present in the atmosphere might accelerate osteoporosis in women following menopause. Explanation sequence.
It’s a astonishing finding which is erected by a American study published in the very famous medical journal, The Lancet : according to her, there is a causal link between air pollution and loss of bone density in women immediately following menopause, an event that accentuates this phenomenon. Conclusions necessarily scrutinized by the public authorities, while 39% of women over 65 suffer from osteoporosis in France, 2 to 3 times more than men. In total, nearly 400,000 fractures due to osteoporosis are recorded each year in our country.
A doubled risk of osteoporosis?
This is not the first time that this team of researchers is interested in this phenomenon ofosteoporosiswhich consists of a “decreased bone density“with the key to changes to their architecturehence pains and difficulty moving. In 2017, these scientists already estimated that poor air quality was a risk factor for bone fractures and osteoporosisespecially in the poorest countries. A result that was surprising at the time, because we understood then that air pollution did not only cause respiratory problems…
An American study published in The Lancet highlights a link between nitrogen oxide pollution in the air and the loss of bone mass in women following menopause (osteoporosis)?.:️ #AirPollution https://t.co/Py5ytDzb6a
— Respire Association (@respireasso) March 13, 2023
This time, the researchers analyzed the health data of more than 9,000 women living in 40 different cities in the UNITED STATESfollowing menopause. These individuals are part of a larger group of 161,000 women who had all agreed to have their health monitored. These 9,000 women were selected because they were the only ones for whom two essential data existed : their bone mineral density as well as fine particle pollution in their place of residence.
The conclusion is instructive: high air pollution doubles loss of bone density in older women following menopause. Nitrogen oxides would be responsible fora 1.22% reduction in lumbar bone mineral density each yeareffects doubled compared to those linked to the classic aging of the human body.
Road traffic and industries in the viewfinder
What do we know regarding nitrogen oxides? First of all that they are already linked to an increased risk of asthma, cardiovascular disease or low weight in some newborns. They are very potent agents that can cause human cell death. In addition, air pollution as a whole reduces life expectancy, and the French State has already been condemned for its lack of voluntarism and its slowness in the fight once morest this scourge.
Air pollution accelerates osteoporosis in women
Air pollution doesn’t just attack the lungs: it also affects the bones, especially in older women. https://t.co/D7m7NpaJhh
— Liberation (@libe) March 12, 2023
Where do they come from ? Mainly road traffic and industries, two very large pollution emitters. Reducing the presence of the car and accelerating the energy transition therefore seem to be major public health issues, hence the interest in the (gradual) establishment of low-emission zones (ZFE) in certain cities. It is moreover in large urban areas as Paris, Lyon et Marseille what nitrogen oxide concentrations are the highestas well as in the valley of Rhône and the Alpine valleys, where heavy road traffic is combined with intense industrial activity… You have been warned!
