Breathing diesel exhaust fumes can be more dangerous for women than men, a study finds
- While inhaling diesel exhaust poses a risk to everyone, researchers found women may be at greater risk
- After long exposure to the fumes, the researchers found that women had higher levels of 90 proteins
- These proteins are linked to an increased risk of circulatory problems like heart disease and blood clotting
- Air pollution from internal combustion engine cars has been linked to problems such as lung cancer, COPD and asthma
Women may suffer more from air pollution caused by burning diesel, a new study finds, though researchers aren’t sure why.
A team from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, found that women had different levels of 90 proteins after exposure to pollution compared to their male counterparts, and that these increased levels put them at greater risk of pollution-related diseases such as z Asthma and COPD.
These proteins are known to play a role in the development of conditions such as heart disease and blood clotting, along with the general damage to the lungs that pollution causes in all humans.
It’s also known that many respiratory diseases affect women differently than men, although experts aren’t sure why. These findings could help further investigate how the two sexes respond differently to pollution.
While inhaling diesel exhaust poses a risk for everyone, researchers found that women may be at greater risk or suffer from circulatory system problems (file photo).
‘[The findings] show that exposure to diesel exhaust has different effects on the female body than on the male, and this may indicate that air pollution is more dangerous for women than for men,” said Neeloffer Mookherjee, a professor at the university, in a press release.
The researchers, who presented their findings at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain over the weekend, collected data from 10 people for the study.
Five of the participants were male and five female. None were smokers and all were considered to be in good health.
Each participant spent four hours breathing filtered air and then another four hours breathing air polluted by diesel exhaust.
Air pollution levels have been classified into three categories based on the prevalence of fine particulate matter, known as PM 2.5.
Each had a level of 20 PM 2.5 per cubic meter, 50 PM 2.5 and 150 PM 2.5. The stages were divided by four-week periods in between, during which the effects of pollution on her body would likely wear off.
A blood sample was taken from participants a full 24 hours after each exposure period.
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed on each sample to determine the concentration of specific proteins in each person’s bloodstream.
The researchers were able to identify 90 proteins that had significantly different levels in the female study population than the males.
Elevated levels of these proteins put women at increased risk of developing heart problems and damaging their immune systems.
Exactly why this is so, however, is unknown. There is no existing medical literature that explains why one woman may suffer from diesel pollution more than another person.
“We need to know a lot more about how women and men react to air pollution and what this means for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of their respiratory diseases,” explained Mookherjee.
The proteins discovered by the researchers are linked to problems related to the circulatory system, but the researchers wonder if women might also be at a higher risk of developing respiratory diseases than their peers because of diesel pollution.
Air pollution is a major risk factor for diseases such as asthma, lung cancer and COPD. Fumes from internal combustion engine vehicles are known to be responsible for much of the pollution in the United States that causes these problems. Studies have even found that people who live near freeways or other busy roads are more likely to suffer from respiratory diseases than their peers.
