We love coming across good news about health here at ThirdAge! Research led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health showed that declining air pollution levels continue to improve life expectancy in the United States. The study is published online the journal Epidemiology.

A release from the university notes that the investigators looked at the effects on health of fine particulate matter, small particles of 2.5 micrometers or less in diameterreferred to as PM2.5. Numerous studies have shown associations between acute and chronic exposure to fine particle air pollution and cardiopulmonary disease and mortality. Studies have also shown that reductions in air pollution are associated with reductions in adverse health effects and improved life expectancy.

According to the release, air pollution has been declining steadily in the U.S. since 1980 but the rate has slowed in the years since 2000. The HSPH researchers wanted to know whether the relatively smaller decreases in PM2.5 levels since 2000 are still improving life expectancy. The answer turned out to be an encouraging yes. The study's results showed that a decrease of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in the concentration of PM2.5 during the period 2000 to 2007 was associated with an average increase in life expectancy of 0.35 years in 545 U.S. counties.

The current study followed a 2009 paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine by some of the same authors that found that reduced air pollution was associated with increased life expectancy in 211 urban counties. This time they looked at more recent data, more than two-and-a-half times as many counties, and included both rural and urban areas. The findings showed that there's a stronger association between declining air pollution and increased life expectancy in more urban, densely populated areas than in rural areas. The results also suggested that reduced levels of air pollution may be more beneficial to women than to men.

Read more from the original source:
Pollution Down, Longevity Up