A smog-filled sky can make it hard to breathe, but air pollution in the home may also be hard on people with lung disease, researchers have found.
In a study of 148 adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), investigators found that those who lived in homes with poor air quality tended to have worse symptoms. Cigarette smoke was the major air-polluting culprit.
“We can immediately very much improve air quality by stopping smoking in the home,” said Dr. Liesl Osman, a senior research fellow at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Breathing in other irritants, such as polluted outdoor air, can contribute to or exacerbate COPD, but less is known about the importance of household air pollution.
In general, the researchers found, patients’ homes had high levels of particulate matter — the fine airborne particles that constitute pollution. Smokers’ homes had especially high concentrations.
Homes with the highest levels of particulate matter exceeded the maximum levels recommended by the EPA by about four-fold. Overall, the greater the level of particulate matter was, the worse patients’ COPD symptoms were.
Dr Osman also stated that poor indoor air quality can be assumed to worsen the long-term prognosis for COPD patients, however long-range studies are needed to confirm this.
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, September 2007.
Cancer is often higher in those that live at home and do not work outside the home. Carpet, paint, synthetic cleaners, bed sheets and beds soaked in chlorine and flamaldihyde, it goes on and on. Visit our sections at Benzinger On Health on air quality and what we have found as the best types of purifier to attack this disease-inducing problem in your own home!
This is Dr. Benzinger On Health helping you fight for your well-being! May god bless you!
