Believe it or not, exposure to bright outdoor artificial lights could be causing a higher instance of stroke among people. A new study published in the scientific journal Stroke found this to be the case.
Don’t we already have to worry about enough things out there that are harming our health? Processed foods, sugar, chemicals in the atmosphere, rising temperatures… the list goes on. And now this.
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The scientists said that the bright, outdoor lights that we see everywhere we go at night might help us see better and improve human safety and comfort, but, their excessive use, the use of artificial light, has resulted in about 80% of the world’s population living in “light-polluted environments.”
And this can actually be bad for your health.
Previous studies linked increased exposure to bright, artificial light at night to the development of cardiovascular disease. However, this is one of the first studies to explore the relationship between exposure to light pollution at night and the potential risk to brain health and stroke.
“Despite significant advances in reducing traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, obesity and Type 2 diabetes, it is important to consider environmental factors in our efforts to decrease the global burden of cardiovascular disease,” said one of the corresponding authors Jian-Bing Wang, Ph.D., a researcher in the department of public health and department of endocrinology of the Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine.”
The scientific study was carried out with 28,302 adults living in China. Their exposure to residential outdoor nighttime light was assessed by satellite images that mapped light pollution. Cases of stroke were confirmed by hospital medical records and death certificates.
The study found that 1,278 of these people developed cerebrovascular disease, including 777 ischemic (clot-caused) stroke cases and 133 hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke cases. People with the highest levels of exposure to outdoor light at night had a 43% increased risk of developing cerebrovascular disease compared to those with the lowest levels of exposure. Also, those with the highest levels of exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5 is primarily emissions from combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel or wood) had a 41% increased risk of developing cerebrovascular disease compared to participants with the lowest levels of exposure to PM2.5.
Participants with the highest levels of exposure to PM10 (PM10 is primarily from dust and smoke) had a 50% increased risk of developing cerebrovascular disease compared to those with the lowest exposure to PM10. Participants with the highest exposure to nitrogen oxide (emissions from cars, trucks and buses, power plants and off-road equipment) had a 31% higher risk of developing cerebrovascular disease compared to those with the lowest exposure.
“Our study suggests that higher levels of exposure to outdoor artificial light at night may be a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease,” Wang said. “Therefore, we advise people, especially those living in urban areas, to consider reducing that exposure to protect themselves from its potential harmful impact.”
