New Delhi, July 10 || Air pollution may not only affect your heart and lungs but can also raise the possibility of developing meningioma -- a typically noncancerous brain tumour -- according to a study.
This common type of brain tumour forms in the lining of the brain and spinal cord. The findings, published in the journal Neurology, do not prove that air pollution causes meningioma -- they only show a link between the two.
The study analysed several air pollutants, including those commonly linked to traffic -- such as nitrogen dioxide and ultrafine particles -- which are especially concentrated in urban environments.
The researchers found that people with higher exposure to air pollutants had a greater risk of developing meningioma.
"Various types of air pollution have been shown to have negative effects on health, and ultrafine particles are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and may directly affect brain tissue," said Ulla Hvidtfeldt, doctoral student at the Danish Cancer Institute in Copenhagen.
"Our study suggests that long-term exposure to air pollution from traffic and other sources may play a role in the development of meningioma and adds to the growing body of evidence that air pollution can affect the brain -- not just the heart and lungs," Hvidtfeldt added.