Air Pollution Is Now Linked To Brain Tumour, Shows Study

Air pollution may not only affect your heart and lungs but can also raise the possibility of developing meningioma -- a typically noncancerous brain tumour -- according to a study.

This common type of brain tumour forms in the lining of the brain and spinal cord. The findings, published in the journal Neurology, do not prove that air pollution causes meningioma -- they only show a link between the two.

The study analysed several air pollutants, including those commonly linked to traffic -- such as nitrogen dioxide and ultrafine particles -- which are especially concentrated in urban environments.

The researchers found that people with higher exposure to air pollutants had a greater risk of developing meningioma.

"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," said Ulla Hvidtfeldt, doctoral student at the Danish Cancer 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," Hvidtfeldt added.

The study included nearly 4 million adults in Denmark with an average age of 35 who were followed over 21 years.

During that time, 16,596 people developed a tumour of the central nervous system, including 4,645 who developed meningioma.

The findings point to a possible link between traffic-related ultrafine particle exposure and the development of meningioma.

The study, however, did not find strong links between the pollutants and more aggressive brain tumours, such as gliomas.

"More research is needed to confirm these results, but if cleaning up our air can help lower the risk of brain tumours, that could make a real difference for public health," Hvidtfeldt said.

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