A small study in China has shown that using an indoor air purifier may benefit people with heart conditions.
Ang Zhao and Renjie Chen from the Fudan University and colleagues employed 35 healthy college students in Shanghai to participate in their study, randomly assigning subjects to use real or fake air purifiers for 48 hours in their dorm rooms. After two weeks, the students were given the freedom to use an air purifier of their choice for 48 hours as well.
According to results, using an air purifier led to a 57 percent drop in PM2.5 concentration in the air, as well as a reduction of 2.7 percent for systolic blood pressure and a reduction of 4.8 percent for diastolic BP, plus a 17 percent reduction in fractional exhaled nitrous oxide. The study also showed improvements in lung function in the subjects, although these did not reflect statistical significance.
The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and was accompanied by an editorial from Robert D. Brook, M.D. and Sanjay Rajagopalan, M.D., F.A.C.C. According to Brook and Rajagopalan, regulations are being implemented to improve overall air quality, but opting to use an indoor air purifier can be used to lower exposure to pollution even more.
No level of air pollution should be fine, but the World Health Organization has set particle levels at 35 micrograms per cubic meter to be an acceptable measure. However, in many cities in Asia, air pollution usually exceeds between 100 and 500 micrograms of particulates for every cubic meter. China, where the study was held, has one of the worst levels of air pollution around the world.
In the study, air pollution levels in rooms using purifiers dropped from around 96 micrograms for every cubic meter to around 41 micrograms per cubic meter.
This certainly proves that air purifiers are effective against pollution, but the researchers noted that further research is needed to more comprehensively evaluate health benefits of long-term air purifier use, most especially in vulnerable populations like the elderly and children.
At the same time, it is important to note that pollution levels in the air vary. This means that while using an air purifier has benefits, how big those benefits can be will depend on just how much air pollution is being purified away.
At the very least though, the study has shown that it is possible to do something to improve one's health despite high levels of air pollution.
Photo: Meddy Garnet | Flickr
