A new study by University College London scientists, in collaboration with Moorfields Eye Hospital, has linked an eye condition that causes blindness to air pollution. The research involved analyzing results of eye tests performed on over 110,000 people across Britain between 2006 and 2010. The study has been published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
They cross-referenced the results of each person’s vision exam against the levels of air pollution in their neighborhood. The results revealed that the people living in areas with higher amounts of fine particulate matter were at least 6% more likely to have glaucoma than the people living in less polluted areas. Glaucoma, if left untreated, can cause blindness, and half a million people in the UK are affected by the condition. However, the researchers only found a link and couldn’t prove that air pollution was a trigger.
Author of the study Professor Paul Foster from UCL said:
We have found yet another reason why air pollution should be addressed as a public health priority, and that avoiding sources of air pollution could be worthwhile for eye health alongside other health concerns. While we cannot confirm yet that the association is causal, we hope to continue our research to determine whether air pollution does indeed cause glaucoma and to find out if there are any avoidance strategies that could help people reduce their exposure to air pollution to mitigate the health risks.
Glaucoma isn’t the first health condition to be linked to air pollution. There are many others, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, heart and lung diseases, and strokes. Of all the air pollutants, being exposed to particulate matter is one of the strongest predictors of mortality.
Not everyone was convinced by the study. For example, Prof Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at The Open University, said there are many questions left unanswered. He said:
Their study cannot establish whether higher levels of pollution cause the risk of glaucoma to increase. That’s because the study is observational. The trouble is that there is likely to be a whole range of differences between people that live in areas of high and low pollution, apart from the pollution level. Any of these differences might, at least in part, be the real reason for the differences in glaucoma risk, and not the different levels of air pollution at all.
Nevertheless, even if air pollution doesn’t cause blindness, it is associated with so many health problems and even thousands of deaths. But, if you think about it, how could it not be harmful to have your eyes bombarded continuously daily by tiny particles for your whole life?
