Deliwe P. Ngwezi is a student and researcher in pediatric cardiology at the University of Alberta (Canada); is leading a study that relates industrial air emissions to cardiac abnormalities that develop while the heart is forming in the uterus. The research (which has not yet been concluded) has been presented at the annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.
Researchers have observed three chemical categories, but only one group has shown a strong correlation with the rates of congenital heart defects. And this is made up of a mixture of organic compounds and metals, such as benzene, butadiene, carbon disulfide, chloroform, ethylene oxide, hexachlorobenzene, tetrachloroethane, methanol, sulfur dioxide, toluene, lead, mercury and cadmium. Congenital heart defects have unknown causes in many cases (Although it is known that they can be caused by chromosomal abnormalities). They occur when the heart or nearby blood vessels do not develop normally before the baby is born.
This study aims to draw attention to the growing evidence of the impact of environmental pollution on birth defects. The limitations of the study include that the researchers' observations were made at the group level and not based on individual risk. For the study, data on industrial emotions are monitored and collected annually by the government.
Ngwezi points out that everyone (including professionals and health managers) must understand that pollutants can cause problems in the hearts that develop
The rates of congenital heart defects have gradually decreased in Canada since 2006 (this is the good news), that is since the government tightened regulations to reduce industrial air emissions. Those cardiac defects that manifest themselves in holes between the upper and lower chambers of the heart (septal defects) and malformations of the outflow tracts (conotruncal heart defects) have mainly decreased.
It is a serious issue of the impact that air pollution from industrial emissions may have on health, and especially in babies that still develop in their mothers' womb. We had already talked about their relationship with cases of low birth weight, remember?
Images | , J.K. Califf, Jan de Graaf More information | American Heart Association On Peques and More | Exposure to Bisphenol A during pregnancy and postnatal period increases the risk of children suffering from asthma. The incidence of emerging pathologies during pregnancy is increasing in Western countries.
