Events
If you have a headache and it is difficult to find the cause, the high level of air pollution may be to blame.
A study carried out in Chile's densely populated province of Santiago, Chile, an area surrounded by mountains and therefore geographically more polluted air, found an increased number of hospitalizations with migraines or other types of headaches precisely on the days when special devices recorded the largest amount of harmful impurities in air.
To confirm these findings, several more studies are needed in different regions. In a current study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, a team led by Dr. Sabit Chakmak analyzed air pollution data obtained from 7 monitoring stations from 2001 to 2005.
The stations measured the amount of ozone and other pollutants in the air, such as nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, as well as the amount of tiny floating in air particles produced when burning gasoline, natural gas and other types of fossil fuels.
Over the same period, researchers collected information on the number of people hospitalized with migraines, tension headaches, bundle headaches, and others types of pain. When experts compared the findings, they found that polluted air is one of the key risk factors for all types of headaches.
It is also important to note that neither age, gender, nor season had a significant impact on the study results. Based on the results of their work, Dr. Chakmak and his colleagues note that now the list of diseases associated with polluted air, as well as the costs associated with it, should be supplemented headache.