A very recent article demonstrates that for every 5 μg/mL increase in gestational exposure to PM 2.5 (air pollution), infants have reduced cord blood and placental telomere length, suggesting that air pollution exposure promotes premature ageing.
Air pollution is associated with increased risk of asthma-related hospitalizations, cardiovascular-related deaths, and inflammatory-mediated diseases. Research studies on air pollution and reproduction were originally limited in number, likely because air pollutants were assumed to affect only the respiratory and cardiovascular system. As the pathophysiology was noted to involve inflammation, oxidative stress, direct toxicity, and impaired DNA repair mechanisms, additional diseases were studied. Reproductive studies first evaluated semen quality with mixed results, likely owing to heterogeneity in assessment of both air pollution exposures and semen quality parameters.
