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Folks uncovered to increased ranges of air air pollution could also be extra prone to develop meningioma, a usually noncancerous mind tumor, in accordance with a big examine printed in Neurology. This frequent sort of mind tumor types within the lining of the mind and spinal twine. The findings don’t show that air air pollution causes meningioma; they solely present a hyperlink between the 2.
The examine analyzed a number of air pollution, together with these generally linked to site visitors—similar to nitrogen dioxide and ultrafine particles—that are particularly concentrated in city environments.
“Various types of air pollution have been shown to have negative effects on health, and ultrafine particles are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and may directly affect brain tissue,” stated examine writer Ulla Hvidtfeldt, Ph.D., of the Danish Most cancers Institute in Copenhagen.
“Our study suggests that long-term exposure to air pollution from traffic and other sources may play a role in the development of meningioma and adds to the growing body of evidence that air pollution can affect the brain—not just the heart and lungs.”
The examine included practically 4 million adults in Denmark with a mean age of 35 who had been adopted over a 21-year interval. Throughout that point, 16,596 folks developed a tumor of the central nervous system, together with 4,645 who developed meningioma.
Researchers used handle histories and superior modeling to estimate long-term publicity to air air pollution.
They calculated 10-year common publicity to the next: ultrafine particles with particles lower than 0.1 micrometers in diameter; wonderful particulate matter, additionally known as PM2.5, with particles which are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or much less; nitrogen dioxide, a gasoline principally from site visitors emissions; and elemental carbon, a marker of diesel air pollution.
Researchers then in contrast folks with the bottom publicity to these with the very best by dividing folks into three teams for every pollutant.
For instance, for ultrafine particles, folks within the lowest group had a mean 10-year publicity of 11,041 particles/cm3 in comparison with folks with the very best publicity of 21,715 particles/cm3. In these teams, 0.06% of individuals within the group with the bottom publicity developed meningiomas in comparison with 0.20% of individuals with the very best publicity.
After adjusting for elements like age, intercourse, training degree and neighborhood socioeconomic standing, researchers discovered that folks with increased publicity to air pollution had a larger threat of creating meningioma:
10% increased threat for ultrafine particles for each improve of 5,747 particles/cm3
21% increased threat for wonderful particulate matter for each improve of 4.0 μg/m3
12% increased threat for nitrogen dioxide for each 8.3 μg/m3
3% increased threat for elemental carbon for each 0.4 μg/m3
The examine didn’t discover robust hyperlinks between these pollution and extra aggressive mind tumors, similar to gliomas.
“While research on the health effects of ultrafine particles is still in its early stages, these findings point to a possible link between traffic-related ultrafine particle exposure and the development of meningioma,” Hvidtfeldt stated.
“More research is needed to confirm these results, but if cleaning up our air can help lower the risk of brain tumors, that could make a real difference for public health.”
A limitation of the examine is that air pollution publicity was based mostly on out of doors air high quality close to folks’s houses, so it would not seize all sources of non-public publicity—like office air or time spent indoors.
Extra data:
Neurology (2025).
Supplied by
American Academy of Neurology
Quotation:
Respiratory soiled air might increase the chance of a standard mind tumor (2025, July 9)
retrieved 10 July 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-07-dirty-air-common-brain-tumor.html
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