Environmental pollutants could weaken your kidneys

Certain environmental pollutants, according to a study, may be the reason for deteriorating kidney health in individuals.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of manufactured non-biodegradable compounds used in industrial processes and consumer products, and they are everywhere in the environment.

Humans are exposed to PFAS through contaminated soil, food, water, and air. Recently, they have been detected in military bases, where they are used in aqueous fire-fighting foams, as well as in public water supplies from industrial contamination and in agricultural and crop products.| Environmental pollution

To investigate whether PFAS exposure may be affecting kidney health, John Stanifer of Duke University and his colleagues searched the medical literature for relevant studies.

“The kidneys are very sensitive organs, particularly when it comes to environmental toxins that can get in our bloodstream. Because so many people are now exposed to these PFAS chemicals, and to the newer, increasingly-produced alternative PFAS agents such as GenX, it is critical to understand if and how these chemicals may be contributing to kidney disease,” he said.

In the 74 studies identified, there were many adverse outcomes linked to PFAS exposure, including degrading function, derangements in the proximal tubules (the resorptive structure of the kidney), and dysregulated metabolic pathways linked to kidney disease. It was also particularly alarming that children were exposed to these chemicals to a greater extent than adults.

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Bad air, water kills: At 2.5 mn, India tops list for pollution-linked deaths

India recorded the most number of premature deaths because of pollution in 2015 at 2.51 million lives lost, followed by China at 1.8 million deaths, a recent study has revealed

health news: India recorded the most number of premature deaths because of pollution in 2015 at 2.51 million lives lost, followed by China at 1.8 million deaths, a recent study has revealed. The findings coincide with the festival of Diwali, which has been synonymous with smoke-choked air due to the rampant bursting of firecrackers across the country.

Citing The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, a two-year initiative seeking to highlight the issue, Reuters reported that India saw the greatest number of pollution-related early deaths in 2015. "People in poorer countries - like construction workers in New Delhi - are more exposed to air pollution and less able to protect themselves from exposure, as they walk, bike or ride the bus to workplaces that may also be polluted," Karti Sandilya, one of the authors of the commission's report, told the news agency.

(Read the full study by The Lancet here)

According to The Lancet's study, diseases caused by pollution were responsible for an estimated 9 million premature deaths, 16 per cent of all deaths worldwide, in 2015. This number was three times more than deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined and 15 times more than from all wars and other forms of violence....Read more