air filters to curb indoor pollution tied to blood pressure improvement - small appliance manufacturers

(Reuters Health)-
A small experiment shows that older people living in houses with poor indoor air quality may have a healthier blood pressure when using portable air filters than when they do not have these devices.
Exposure to so-called PM2. 5 -
Tiny particles of dust, dirt, soot and smoke-
Researchers in the Journal of Internal Medicine in JAMA pointed out that the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases has long been associated with it.
However, little is known about whether portable air filters help reduce this risk.
The current study involved 40 non-smokers living in low-income groups
Income housing for seniors in Detroit, Michigan.
The residence is located near the main roads and industrial facilities that release fine particulate matter into the air.
Residents measure blood pressure for three days at a time after using three different types of portable air filters: low
Efficient air filter;
An efficient particle trap (HEPA)filter;
And a fake filter with no clean air at all.
Older people were exposed to pm2. 5 on average compared to when using fake filters.
5 Indoor low 31%, low
High efficiency filters and HEPA filters are 53% lower.
With the use of air filters, blood pressure levels in patients with hypertension have improved, similar to the extent that lifestyle changes (such as increased exercise or reduced salt consumption) may be achieved, the lead author of the study was Masako Morishita at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
"Simple interventions using cheap indoor air filtration devices can help reduce pm2. 5.
"Exposure and blood pressure levels," Morishita said in an email . ".
"Since high blood pressure is a major risk factor for global death, we believe it is necessary to conduct larger trials to test whether air filtration devices can play an important role in helping prevent global cardiovascular disease.
"The World Health Organization attributed 4 million deaths per year to exposure to fine particulate matter.
Its guidelines recommend an average exposure of more than 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3)
The author points out.
In this study, the average exposure was 15 times.
5 ug/m3 no air filtration, 10.
Low 9 ug/m3
Efficient filtering, 7.
4 ug/m3 with HEPA filter.
The blood pressure reading in adults is 120/80 HG (
Mm of mercury)
Considered healthy.
With a false filter, the mean blood pressure of the study participants was 133/82 HG, 129. 5/80. 2 with low-
High efficiency air filter, 130. 7/81.
9 with HEPA filter.
One limitation of this study, the authors note, is that meaningful differences in blood pressure detection based on the type of air filter used are too small.
The study also did not track whether people really died from cardiovascular disease.
Nevertheless, Shohreh Farzan said that air filters may be an easy way to reduce the negative health effects of exposure to fine particulate matter, and an environmental health researcher at the University of Southern California's Keke School of Medicine in Los Angeles did not participate in the study.
Farzan said by email that a relatively small decrease in blood pressure could improve cardiovascular health.
Consumers should look for HEPA filters that also have activated carbon filters and are certified by the Home Appliance Manufacturers Association (AHAM), said Kai-
Chuang, a public health researcher at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, did not participate in the study.
Chuang said in an email that one would also need to measure the size of the room the filter will be used to make sure the filter is strong enough to clean the air volume in the space. SOURCE: bit.
Ly/2 COPAjr JAMA Internal Medicine, online on September 10, 2018.