Nutritional Solutions to Reduce Risks of Negative Health Impacts of Air Pollution.

Szabolcs Péter,Peter Weber,Daniel Raederstorff,Manfred Eggersdorfer,Jane Clougherty,Magda Antal,Lisa Wood,Fernando Holguin

doi:10.3390/nu7125539

Abstract

Air pollution worldwide has been associated with cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality, particularly in urban settings with elevated concentrations of primary pollutants. Air pollution is a very complex mixture of primary and secondary gases and particles, and its potential to cause harm can depend on multiple factors—including physical and chemical characteristics of pollutants, which varies with fine-scale location (e.g., by proximity to local emission sources)—as well as local meteorology, topography, and population susceptibility. It has been hypothesized that the intake of anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients may ameliorate various respiratory and cardiovascular effects of air pollution through reductions in oxidative stress and inflammation. To date, several studies have suggested that some harmful effects of air pollution may be modified by intake of essential micronutrients (such as B vitamins, and vitamins C, D, and E) and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Here, we review the existing literature related to the potential for nutrition to modify the health impacts of air pollution, and offer a framework for examining these interactions.

Highlights

Air pollution, including fine particulate matter (i.e., PM2.5) and gases, constitutes an environmental risk to human health and well-being
While air pollution health effects may operate through a wide array of biological mechanisms, three predominant mechanisms for Particulate matter (PM)-mediated effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been proposed: (a) Inhaled fine particles enter the blood stream leading to direct endothelial dysfunction and increased platelet aggregation; (b) Particles cause pulmonary inflammation and oxidation, with a systemic “spill-over” effect, which may lead vascular dysfunction, hypercoagulability, insulin resistance, etc.; (c) Inhaled particles cause autonomic nervous system imbalance, leading to decrease heart rate variability and enhanced susceptibility to have cardiac arrhythmias [27]
Moving forward, air pollution related health research and policy should focus more intensively on identifying susceptibility factors, both individual and geospatial, to develop targeted interventions to reduce the ambient pollution health burden. Because both pollution composition and population variance in susceptibility is so vast, the most effective and wide-reaching interventions—beyond reductions in air pollution itself—likely operate along common inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways impacted by a range of gaseous and particulate pollutants

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution, including fine particulate matter (i.e., PM2.5) and gases, constitutes an environmental risk to human health and well-being. While regulatory and environmental health efforts worldwide are working to reduce human exposures to air pollution, there may be related public health opportunities to reduce population susceptibility to air pollution. There is no safe air pollution level at which adverse health effects are absent. These complexities have made it very challenging to legislate and develop adequate protection strategies. We summarize the research to date related to potential nutritional modification of air pollution health effects, towards better understanding the potential role for nutrition in modifying population susceptibility to pollution. We aim to provide a framework for future research towards reducing health impacts of air pollution worldwide, for those populations that are most susceptible and/or most highly exposed [12]

Characteristics of Air Pollution

Effect of Nutrients on Air Pollution-Induced Health Damage

Main Outcome Measures

The Asthma Case

Findings

Conclusions