Study Finds Air Pollution Linked to Higher Rates of Post-Surgical Complications

A new study found that air pollution was linked to post-surgical complications.

The study encompassed nearly 50,000 surgery patients and found links to higher risks of complications like sepsis, pneumonia, and surgical wound infection. The risk was found to be higher even if PM2.5 air pollution was higher just for one day in the week before surgery. The risk of post-surgery complications increased from 4.8% to 8.2% when air pollution was “higher than the EPA daily exposure limit in the week before surgery.”

The higher the level of air pollution, “the greater the increase in risk.” Every 10ug/m3 increase in fine particulate air pollution was “associated with about an 8% increase in the relative risk of post-surgical complications, resulting in an absolute increase in risk of 1.4% when pollution exceeded EPA daily limits.”

More research is still needed to determine “which specific complications are more likely to arise following high air pollution.” This study does unquestionably provide yet more evidence that “better air quality benefits human health.”