Health Threats from Air Pollution Greater for Diabetics
by www.SixWise.com

About 4 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to air pollution, according to the Environmental Science Engineering Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. And, alarmingly, in the most polluted cities it has been estimated that lives are shortened by an average of one to two years, according to research by the American Cancer Society and Harvard University.

Surprisingly, it's indoor air that's most dangerous--it's typically two to five times more polluted than outdoor air!

Generally speaking, air pollution affects everyone a little bit differently and can cause everything from difficulty breathing, nausea and asthma attacks to lung cancer, heart disease and genetic abnormalities in newborns.

A Warning for People With Diabetes

A study published in the June 2005 issue of the journal Circulation found that people with diabetes are at an increased risk of heart problems when air pollution levels are high, a finding that's of great concern considering that over 13 million Americans have the disorder.

Specifically, the ability of the blood vessels to control blood flow was impaired among this group, and such "Impaired vascular reactivity has been associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and other heart problems," said Marie O'Neill, Ph.D., an epidemiologist and lead author of the study. She went on to say:

"We observed an 11 percent decrease in diabetics' vascular reactivity on days when sulfate particle concentrations were higher than normal ... We also noted a 13 percent decrease in their vascular reactivity on days with higher-than-normal black carbon concentrations ... We hope our study will remind people that reducing air pollution is important for everyone's health, but especially for vulnerable members of our population, including the elderly and people with chronic health problems such as diabetes."

This study was not the only one to observe such findings. "Previous studies have shown that when air pollution levels are higher, people with diabetes have higher rates of hospitalization and death related to cardiovascular problems," said David Schwartz, M.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Air Pollution a Growing Threat

Now more than ever, air pollution is threatening the health of Americans in urban, rural and, especially, indoor environments. One study published in a 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and involving over 500,000 people found that long-term exposure to air pollution, in this case in metropolitan areas, not only significantly increases the risk of dying from lung cancer but is as comparably bad for your health as living with a smoker.

You may also be surprised to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency says indoor air can be anywhere from two to five times as polluted as outdoor air--and sometimes more than 100 times more polluted!

Toxins in indoor air can stem from a number of sources, including:

• Dust--including the 20 common components that make up dust
• Cooking and heating appliances
• Building materials, carpets, paint and synthetic fabrics
• Disinfectants and household cleaners
• Air fresheners
• Perfumes
• Insecticides
• Tobacco smoke
• Mold
• Animal dander and mouse urine
• Radon gas

But even if you can't control the air you breathe outside your home, you can control the air inside. Here's how.

Dust often and with the right tools: What's the optimum choice for dusting? The PerfectClean line of mops, dusters, towels and more, which are used by leading hospitals and other health care organizations.

Rather than just pushing dust around, or worse, stirring it up into the air, PerfectClean's EasyGrip Mop and Flexible Duster are made with positively charged ultramicrofibers that pick up everything in their path--including dust and all of its microscopic attachments.

These ultramicrofibers are so small at an astonishing 3 microns that they're even smaller than most bacteria (each cleaning cloth contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!). They pick up contaminants either used dry or dampened with water--no harsh cleaners needed.

Choosing PerfectClean's ultramicrofiber cloths, mops and wipes is by far the smartest choice--and the most economical since each cloth can be used over 100 times before being replaced--for dusting in your home.

Use Doormats: As strange as it may sound, a few high-quality doormats placed strategically around your home (such as in entranceways and other highly trafficked areas) is an excellent way to get significantly cleaner air. That's because a key way chemicals, pesticides and other contaminants enter your home is through dust and dirt you track in on the bottom of your shoes. They then settle into your carpeting or become part of your household dust, which is circulated into the air as you move around.

SixWise.com highly recommends the Waterhog Grand Premier Mats for this purpose.

Unlike other mats out there, Waterhogs have a distinctive "water-dam" border that traps soil and liquids in the mat so they don't drain or track onto your floors ... while vastly minimizing slipping. Plus, they have a unique ridged construction that effectively removes and traps dirt and moisture beneath shoe level, so contaminants are not tracked into your home.

It's important to avoid mats made from coir, sisal and other fibers--even cotton--because, although they may look nice, they do not retain dirt, dust or water very well, and can actually "kick up" dust into your home. This is the opposite of what a good mat should do. Plus, cotton mats retain moisture, which makes them ideal places for mold spores and germs to thrive.

Choose the Right Type of Air Cleaner: A high-quality air treatment system is essential to having clean indoor air, but choosing the right type can be a cumbersome task, given the numerous models on the market (and their quality varies drastically).

Recommended Reading

Exposure to Air Pollution Linked to Genetic Abnormalities

The Five Key Areas of Illness-Causing Germs & Toxins in Your Home

Circulation May 31, 2005