Air pollution worsens osteoporosis

The authors present several possible mechanisms why fine dust could affect bone mass. The easiest may be that exposure increases systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, which then leads to increased bone loss.

separate linear mixed models were adapted with nested random sections (household within villages) for each couple of exposure results and adjusted one after the other for potential confounder. The data analysis was carried out between April 2019 and July 2019.

important knowledge

The pollution of the ambient air was connected to a lower BMC. In fully adapted models, PM2.5 was associated with a lower BMC in the spine (medium difference –0.57 g per 3 μg/m 3 increase of pm2.5) and hips (medium difference –0.13 g per 3 μg/m 3 increase of PM2.5). According to confounder adjustment, the PM2.5 exposure was also connected to a lower bone mineral density in the spine (medium difference –0.011 g/cm ^{2 per 3 μg/m 3 increase of pm2.5) and hip (medium difference –0,004 g/cm per 3 μg/m 3 increase of pm2.5). The exposure to soot was connected to a lower BMC in the spine (medium difference –1.13 g per 1 μg/m 3 increase of BC) and hip (medium difference –0.35 g per 1 μg/m 3 ). There was no connection between the use of biomass brown materials and the spine BMC.}

practice implications

There is already numerous evidence that air pollution caused by fine dust with a variety of non -transferable diseases. ^{1 whether osteoporosis should be added to this list of diseases or not was unclear. Some studies have shown a connection between fine dust pollution and lower bone density or fracture risk. 2.3 others. 4 A study found an increased risk of forearm fractures in older men, but not in younger women or men. Women who were exposed to gaseous air pollutants but do not have a significant effect of fine dust. 6 Although the previous studies have not provided any consistent results, the idea that fine dust could be associated with osteoporosis remains not only, but is now now being carried out by the results of this current study by Ranzani et al.}

The authors present several possible mechanisms why fine dust could affect bone mass. The easiest may be that the exposure increases the systemic inflammation 7 and oxidative stress, 8 which then leads to increased bone breakdown.

A study from 2015 reported on faster bone turnover in children who were exposed to higher fine dust loads. 9 It seems reasonable that this will also be the case in adults. It was also suspected that a higher pollution over the exposure to ultraviolet light is blocked, which can affect the calcium homöostasis by reducing vitamin D production.

ranzani et al. reported that the connection between fine dust pollution and a low bone mass for the lumbar spine, which mainly consists of trabecular bones, was larger than for the hip, which has a higher proportion of cortical bones. Trabecular bones obviously reacts more to oxidative stress through fine particles as cortical bones.

Whatever is the reason that the connection between air pollution caused by fine dust and osteoporosis seems to be stronger with this publication, and it is time that we include this concern for air quality in our treatment protocols for risk patients or patients with a reduced bone mass.

Our list of chronic Health problems related to fine dust pollution is getting longer. The proposal of our late colleague Walter Crinion that patients could be made to buy air filters could be the most important measure that could take to improve their health, seems to be increasingly prophetic over time.