Significant Link Between Miscarriages And Air Pollution Adds Urgency For Cities To Address Problem

A study in China found that the way air pollution affects pregnancies goes beyond premature labor and low birth weights. In other public health news: organ donation, plant-based meat, hot flashes, urine tests, CBD products, and more.

The New York Times: Air Pollution Is Linked To Miscarriages In China, Study Finds Researchers in China have found a significant link between air pollution and the risk of miscarriage, according to a new scientific paper released on Monday. While air pollution is connected to a greater risk of respiratory diseases, strokes and heart attacks, the new findings could add more urgency to Beijing’s efforts to curb the problem, which has long plagued Chinese cities. Faced with a rapidly aging population, the government has been trying to increase the national birthrate, which dropped last year to the lowest level since 1949. (Qin, 10/14)

CNN: Exposure To Pollution Linked To ‘Silent Miscarriages’ Other research has found that pollution can breach a mother’s placenta and potentially reach fetuses in the womb, raising the possibility of miscarriage or, if the woman is able to carry the baby to term, future health problems for the child. A 2017 study of women in London found that exposure to pollution from traffic led to giving birth to low birth weight babies. Babies born with a low birth weight are at a much greater risk of dying than healthy weight babies and face a much greater risk of chronic disease later in life, such as cardiovascular problems. (Christensen, 10/14)

The Associated Press: Where You Die Can Affect Your Chance Of Being An Organ Donor If Roland Henry had died in a different part of the country, his organs might have been recovered. And lives could have been saved. But the local organ collection agency said no. It gave no reason, no explanation to his family, though the Connecticut man appeared to be a well-qualified donor despite advancing age: He died in a hospital, on a ventilator, previously healthy until a car crash that led to a stroke. (10/14)

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