Appendicitis Linked to Pollution

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by Terri Potratz | October 7, 2008 at 10:23 am
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Researchers have established a link between pollution and appendicitis after noticing that hospital patient numbers spiked on days when pollution was high.  Over 45,000 patients were surveyed between 1999 and 2006.

A University of Calgary team found more patients were hospitalised on days when pollution levels were at their highest.

The study, presented to an American College of Gastroenterology conference, suggests pollution raises the general risk of tissue inflammation.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk


The function of the appendix is unknown, but if it becomes inflamed it must be surgically removed to avoid the risk of it bursting and endangering the life of the patient.  The cause of appendicitis is about as mysterious as the appendix itself - it generally remains unknown as to why the it swells up and fills with pus or what factors contribute to appendicitis.
They found patients were approximately 15% more likely to be hospitalised on days of highest ozone concentrations compared to days of lowest ozone concentrations.

Similar findings were seen for other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter - although the effect appeared to be not as marked.

The effect of air pollution was strongest during the summer months, when people were more likely to be outside.

Previous studies have shown that air pollution may promote other disease states through inflammation, and the researchers said this was the most likely explanation for their finding.

Lead researcher Dr Gilaad Kaplan said: "If the relationship between air pollution and appendicitis is confirmed, then improving air quality may prevent the occurrence of appendicitis in some individuals."

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

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sustainablelove
sustainablelove

at 09:24 on October 8th, 2008

http://burningissues.org has a lot of useful information about particulate pollution and health. Wood smoke from fireplaces and wood stoves, as well as restaurants, is a major source of dangerous particulate pollution.  ... I can also recommend a number of useful web sites to help everyone move towards healthy eco-cities: http://EcoCityBuilders.org ... http://PostCarbon.org ... http://BicycleCity.com ... http://CarFree.com ... http://FreePublicTransit.org ... http://LifeAfterTheOilCrash.net ... http://ClimateCodeRed.net The Case for Emergency Action on Global Warming ... http://ClimateEmergencyNetwork.org ... http://WakeUpFreakOut.org ... http://CommonDreams.org ... http://VoteNadar.org.

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