New study finds air pollution can increase risk of blood clots

SALT LAKE CITY — Breathing in high levels of polluted air over time can significantly increase the risk of developing blood clots, according to a new study by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Experiment background

Experimenters recruited over 6,600 individuals across the United States starting in 2000-2002, keeping track of participants over 17 years.

They obtained data for each individual’s exposure to four types of air pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, fine particulate matter, and ozone.

Taking into account other health and genetic factors of the participants, three of the four pollutants were found with increased risk of developing venous thromboembolisms, which can include deep vein thrombosis.

Dr. Yazan Abou-Ismail, assistant professor of hematology at the University of Utah, said certain pollutants cause more harm than others.

“There was a statistically significant association with increased levels of three of the pollutants they measured and the outcome risk of venous thromboembolism,” said Abou-Ismail. “That risk varied with each type of pollutant.”

Related: Air pollution linked to increased risk of head and neck cancer, says study

Study results

Chronic exposure to high levels of these pollutants showed varied results:

• Airborne nitrogen dioxide nearly tripled risk for developing blood clots.
• Nitrogen oxide raised clot risks by 2.3 times.
• PM 2.5 increased blood clot risk by 43%.

Only ozone exposure showed no increased risk of clots.

Potential protections

Utah is known for not having the best air quality throughout the year, but there are tips from doctors and government officials on how to reduce the amount of pollution one breathes in.

Johns Hopkins Medicine gave several tips to stay healthy on particularly bad days, including:

• Limiting time outdoors to 30 minutes or less.
• Keeping windows closed and using recirculating settings on heat and air conditioning systems.
• Switching fitness activities from outdoor to indoor.
• Taking a shower after being outside to rinse particles from your body.

Related: Utah air pollution could impact 2034 Winter Olympics, USU professor warns

While reducing Utah’s air pollution will take years of work, Abou-Ismail said there are things you can do to keep your body healthy to lower one’s long-term risk of thrombosis:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Eating a healthy diet
• Exercising regularly
• Avoiding smoking
• Regularly checking in with doctors to treat any conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.

“The way I look at it, there are things we can control and things that we cannot control,” said Abou-Ismail. “We can’t really control our climate, but we can control what we do about our health and our homes.”