APCOM

There's a strong correlation between air pollution, in particular thin dusts, and venous thrombosis, an illness caused by blood clots that affects the veins of the lower limbs. It has been explained by a research carried out by the Labour Clinic of Milano's Foundation Irccs Ospedale Maggiore - Policlinico Mangiagalli and Regina Elena and by Statale University which involved over 2,000 people. The results appeared on the Archives of Internal Medicine, a bi-monthly professional medical journal published by the American Medical Association.

The study has examined the levels of exposure to thin dusts of 870 people to whom thrombosis was diagnosed between 1995 and 2005. Researchers also considered 1,210 healthy people who live in different areas of the region. 53 junction boxes of Arpa (the regional agency for the protection of environment) have been used to measure the levels of exposure to thin dusts. The comparison shows the clear association between high levels of exposure to pollution and the risk of thrombosis.

This risk, increases by 70% for the rise of every 10 microgram-particulate per square metre during the year previous to the diagnose. The already existing data show that air pollution raises the risk of a heart attacks and strokes, while for the first time this research confirms the mutual relation between air pollution and the formation of clots in the veins of lower legs and thighs.