The researchers studied changes in the blood of men and women after exposure to diesel fumes
The impact of air pollution, especially from the exhaust of polluting diesel vehicles, is more severe in women than in men, according to a new small Canadian scientific study.
The researchers from the universities of Manitoba and British Columbia, who made a relevant announcement at an international conference of the European Pulmonology Society in Barcelona, ​​studied the changes in the blood of men and women after their exposure to diesel fumes. Changes in blood components related to inflammation, infection and cardiovascular disease were found in both sexes, but the changes were greater in women.
Previous studies have shown that there are differences between men and women when it comes to asthma, respiratory infections and other lung conditions. Inhalation of diesel fumes has also been found to cause inflammation in the lungs. The new research shows for the first time that this effect is more severe in women than in men.
The research was done on five female and five male volunteers, who were healthy and non-smokers. Each spent four hours in the lab breathing filtered air and another equal number of hours breathing air containing diesel fumes at three different concentrations (20, 50 and 150 micrograms of PM2 microparticles per cubic meter of air). The current average annual European limit for PM2.5 particles entering the lungs is 25 micrograms, but in many European cities the level is far exceeded during certain periods of peak vehicular traffic.
Study participants gave blood samples 24 hours after their exposure to diesel. Their analysis showed that the levels of 90 proteins were distinctly different between men and women. The changes in women were particularly significant in some proteins that play a role in inflammation, repairing cell damage, blood clotting, cardiovascular disease and immune system function.
“Although the findings are preliminary, they still show that exposure to diesel fumes has different effects on women’s bodies than men’s, and this means that air pollution is more dangerous for women than for men . This is important as respiratory conditions such as asthma are known to affect women and men differently, with women more likely to develop severe asthma that does not respond to treatments. So we need to learn a lot more about how women and men react to air pollution so that we can improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this lung condition,” said lead researcher Professor Nilofer Mukherjee of Manitoba.
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