If your home is not far from a major road, then your health is in danger. Scientists from the United States have found that such an undesirable neighborhood adversely affects the kidneys, weakening their function. Moreover, you may be at risk because of the likelihood of heart attack and stroke.
The authors of the scientific work obtained such conclusions as a result of the analysis of medical histories of more than 1100 patients who had a stroke in the period from 1999 to 2004. Almost half of these people lived less than a kilometer from major highways, while the rest lived in a radius of 1-10 kilometers.
Blood and urine tests showed altered creatinine levels in all patients. Creatinine (a product of muscle metabolism) is excreted by the kidneys, and therefore, by its level, it can judge the work of this vital organ.
The worst indicators of kidney function were among those who lived in the immediate vicinity of the highway. Such a deterioration in renal function is equivalent to a decrease in their functions during aging of the human body by 4 years. In that half of patients who lived within a radius of a kilometer from the highway, the probability of dying from cardiovascular ailments increased by 4% and by 1% of all causes.
And the blame for everything, as experts explain, is air pollution with exhaust gases, which causes narrowing of arteries, inflammation and damage to peripheral vessels. And the kidneys are sensitive to such vascular changes.
