This week, France is going through a cold snap…which increases the risks of air pollution. The bad news? This poor air quality increases the risk of skin irritation. We know that our environment is largely involved in a number of contemporary diseases. Endocrine disruptors or pesticides are major providers of diseases, no one questions this today. The air we breathe too.
There has been a 1% increase in people affected by atopic eczema every year since the industrial revolution.
A new study American states that the pollutionmore significant during cold periods, increases the risk of skin diseasesespecially eczema. Published in the leading scientific journal Plos One, this study led by the US Center for Air, Climate and Energy Solutions confirms a link between the incidence of eczema and average pollution levels with fine particlesand therefore the place of residence of the patients.
Eczema: more and more people affected
Eczema is the third most widespread chronic skin disease in France (behind acne and mycosis), it affects 34% of the population. A much less harmless pathology than it seems, a British study published in 2021 in the The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) relayed by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAA) having established in 2021 that “patients with severe atopic eczema had a 62% increased risk of death compared to those without eczema”. No doubt, scientists argue, because of crossed pathologies and/or a level ofinflammation higher due to eczema.
Scientists have noticed an increase in cases since industrialization of society, prevalence which continues since there has been an increase of 1% in the number of people affected every year since. On a global scale, cases of atopic dermatitis are swelling in all countries.
But above all, these are the large cities which are worrying. Already in 2010, an English study highlighted a higher ratio of people with eczema in urban areas (compared to rural areas). This new work confirms the overrepresentation of urban residents in this type of skin pathology but go further and accuse more precisely the fine particle pollution.
Fine particles: what effects on health?
“Emitted during automobile combustion, in particular, fine particles of smaller diametergreater than 2.5 micrometers, are already known for their deleterious effect on cardiovascular health”, reports International Mail which relays the study published in Plos One. Inserm, for its part, recalls thatWorld Health Organization (WHO) attributes more than 4 million deaths per year to atmospheric pollution, in particular fine particles whose diameter is less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), the same as those which are involved in eczema. Here, Santé Publique France estimates that around 40,000 premature deaths are attributable to PM2.5. Diseases directly impacted by pollution? THE respiratory diseasesit goes without saying, asasthma and COPD, cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction and stroke) and certain skin diseases, in particular eczema, as confirmed by this scientific work. THE number of cases of eczema double by 10 micrograms of additional fine particles per cubic meter of air.
Why is air pollution greater when it is cold?
The winters follow one another and are similar: the pics de pollution with fine particles (the most dangerous, because they penetrate the heart of our cells) bloom every year, particularly in cold and dry weather. How to explain it? By our travel First of all. In the city, soft mobility (cycling) is neglected in favor of carone of the leading causes of pollution in fine particles. Added to this is an explosion in the use of heaters, some of which (we detail them here) are bad for your health. But another phenomenon less known explains the spikes of pollution in cold and dry weather: the inversion of temperatures. When the ground is very coldair pollution remains “stuck” and does not escape altitude.
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