brain health Archives

brain health

March 6, 2024

“Explosive growth’ in petrochemical production linked to increases in cancers and other diseases in new report

By Carey Gillam

Chemical pollution tied to fossil fuel operations is not only driving harmful climate change but is also posing dire risks to human health at levels that require aggressive private and public efforts to limit exposures, warns a new analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

The article authored by Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), cites data from dozens of research studies highlighting what Woodruff calls a nexus between “explosive growth” in the petrochemical industry that includes forecasts for plastic production to grow almost three-fold by 2050, and data showing increases in cancers and other diseases in young people, particularly reproductive cancers in women.

Between 1990 and 2019, rates of neurodevelopmental disorders, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and certain cancers are among the non-communicable diseases that have increased, with petrochemicals used in producing plastics and other products among drivers of the growth, according to the paper.

“Numerous medical societies, government agencies, and systematic reviews have concluded that exposure to chemicals and pollution… is an important risk factor for multiple diseases and health inequities and probably contributes to these increases,” the report notes, adding that increases in disease and petrochemical production at the same time “alone cannot be interpreted as causal.”

Doctors and patients need to acknowledge and address the risks, and work to reduce exposures, while regulators need to strengthen chemical evaluations and oversight, said Woodruff, who directs the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and the Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Center.

“This is really important… one of the major factors driving climate change is also increasing our exposures to chemicals that are adversely impacting health,” she said. “Typically people say cancer is a disease of the aging, but now we’re seeing it increasing in people under 50.”

February 24, 2023

Evidence mounts linking air pollution to Parkinson’s disease

By Grace van Deelen

New research adds to evidence that people living in areas with high air pollution are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder.

The research found a nationwide association between incidents of Parkinson’s and annual average particulate matter air pollution, also known as PM 2.5. Researchers found that at the highest annual exposure level, participants were 25% more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, compared to those with the lowest exposure.

The findings are expected to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s meeting in April and published in the journal Neurology. The work was funded by grants from the US Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

“It’s a very compelling story that we see,” said Brittany Krzyzanowski, a scientist at the Barrow Neurological Institute and lead author on the new study.

Researchers used data from over 22 million Americans, 83,674 of whom had reported a Parkinson’s diagnosis. They analyzed that data alongside geographical data showing the amount of PM 2.5 in the atmosphere. PM 2.5 is a type of air pollution that comes from vehicle exhaust, forest and grass fires, and other industrial processes, meaning that communities near highways and industrial areas are most likely to have high exposure.

The link between the disease and PM 2.5 has been suggested in numerous other studies, including a 2022 review of existing research that found air pollution to be “an emerging risk factor in the development of Parkinson’s disease.”

As well, a 2018 study of more than 2 million Ontario adults found that long-term exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with a 4% increase in instances of Parkinson’s, while a 2020 study of 63 million US adults found an association between PM 2.5 exposure and hospitalization for Parkinson’s.