Appendicitis and pollution
High levels of air pollution may increase the risk of appendicitis
Dr. Gilaad G. Kaplan, the principal investigator from the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine and member of the Calvin Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute of Infection Immunity and Inflammation.
Researchers identified more than 5,000 adults who were hospitalized for appendicitis in Calgary between 1999 and 2006 and studied the relationship between air pollutants and the development of appendicitis.
For the study, researchers used data from Environment Canada that collects hourly levels of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter of varying sizes. The findings showed that higher concentrations of air pollutants were associated with the occurrence of appendicitis in the population. The effect of air pollution was strongest during the summer months when people were more likely to be outside.
“In developing countries appendicitis rarely occurs; however, as these nations become industrialized the incidence of appendicitis increases,” says Dr. Gilaad G. Kaplan, the principle investigator from the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine and member of the Calvin Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute of Infection Immunity and Inflammation. “Our paper provides epidemiologic evidence that some cases of appendicitis may be triggered by exposures to air pollutants. This relationship may explain the drop in the incidence of appendicitis in North America and Europe in the latter part of the twentieth century”.
Previous studies have shown air pollution can promote other disease states through inflammation and this may be the mechanism by which air pollution increases the risk of appendicitis.
Adult appendicitis is a common condition whose onset is unclear and almost universally requires surgery.
