Delhi Air Pollution: Tiny air pollutants put young at stroke risk - Times of India

Delhi Air Pollution: Tiny air pollutants put young at stroke risk | Delhi News - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Pollution has increased the risk of stroke in the younger and relatively healthy population with air pollutants causing inflammation and damage to the inner lining of the arteries. Doctors are concerned about this trend and warn that the city's pollution puts not only the aged at risk but also those who are young and healthy.

Stressing on the importance of awareness about the risk factors associated with stroke, many experts advocated population-based approaches to preventing the medical emergency on the eve of World Stroke Day on Sunday.

Doctors said that there was a need for collaborative action and the government, healthcare community and NGOs must come together on a common platform and devise strategies to reduce risk factors and control the rate of stroke incidence.
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Dr Praveen Gupta, principal director, neurology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, said, "With the current scenario, the situation is getting worse. Many patients in the age group of 40-50 years are suffering strokes. Nearly 20% of stroke patients are young and their numbers increase in the winter months between November and February." He added that the number of such patients has almost doubled in the last few years and studies suggest that major risk factors like air pollution and smoking are behind stroke both in the short term and long term.

Defining air pollution as an important risk factors for stroke, Dr Vinay Goyal, director, neurology, Medanta Medicity, said, "Industries, motor vehicles, agriculture and biofuels are the most common air pollution contributors. It has been well established that patients who live in the more polluted areas are more prone to strokes."

Earlier it was thought that air pollution increased the risk of stroke for the elderly and sick.

However, studies have found that even seemingly healthy young adults, who usually have less prevalence of neurological problems, are also at risk.

Even short-term exposure to air pollution may be linked to an increased risk of stroke, according to a meta-analysis published recently in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

In the study, short-term exposure was defined as occurring within five days of the stroke. The study highlighted that people who had exposure to a higher concentration of various types of air pollution had an increased risk of stroke. Higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were linked with a 28% increased risk of stroke; higher ozone levels were linked with a 5% increase; carbon monoxide caused a 26% increase and sulphur dioxide influenced a 15% increase. A higher concentration of PM1 was linked to a 9% increased risk of stroke, PM2.5 to 15% and PM10 to 14%.

Dr Sumit Singh, director, neurology, Artemis Hospitals, said, "We are seeing an increase in the number of young patients getting strokes due to pollution. In a month, we get 3-4 stroke patients who are in their early 40s and we determine this is due to pollution." There are many studies that clearly indicate that pollution does lead to a higher susceptibility to strokes.