Dirty Air Now could Harm Hearts of Offspring Later

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December 5, 2018

A parent’s exposure to dirty air before conception might spell heart trouble for the next generation, a new animal study suggests.

Wondering about the possible health risks for children of people routinely exposed to highly polluted air, including soldiers and residents of some of the world’s largest cities, researchers from The Ohio State University studied the effects of dirty air on mice.

And they found an abundance of evidence of harm to the offspring of parents that routinely breathed dirty air prior to mating.

“We found that these offspring had a variety of heart problems during the prime of their lives and the effects were so robust that it was somewhat shocking,” said study senior author Loren Wold, director of biomedical research at Ohio State’s College of Nursing.

Read more about the study and how it opens the door to more exploration of the role of air pollution on the health of future generations.