Counties with dirtier air have more stroke deaths

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https://newsroom.heart.org/news/counties-with-dirtier-air-have-more-stroke-deaths

Counties with dirtier air have more stroke deaths
American Stroke Association News Release – Poster WMP57, Session MP5
January 30, 2019

Study Highlights:

• Counties with higher levels of fine particulate (PM2.5) air pollution have more stroke deaths and shorter life expectancies among their citizenry.
• About half of U.S. counties have annual air pollution levels that exceed guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019

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When researchers examined associations between county average PM2.5 pollution levels and health measures (age-adjusted rates in adults 35 years and older), they found:

• The dirtier the air, the higher the rate of stroke deaths and shorter life expectancy in both men and women.
• The higher the poverty rate and fewer health providers in a county, the greater the health impact of high pollution.
• The highest impact on stroke was in the South. The new results raise the possibility that exposure to PM2.5 pollution may be a factor in creating the so-called “stroke belt” in the southern United States. Other possible contributors to excessive rates of stroke in these states are poverty, diet, smoking, the control of stroke risk factors and the availability of health services.

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