Exposure to air pollution can cause a person to be 2.16 times more likely to experience eye strokes, which can cause vision loss, researchers in Taipei said yesterday.
Analyzing National Health Insurance Administration data and data from air-quality and weather sensors nationwide, a team of researchers from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University, and Yuan Ze University found a correlation between air pollution and the occurrence of eye strokes.
An increase of air pollution over a one-week period by just one part per billion can cause those exposed to be 1.1 times more likely to experience an eye stroke, the team said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Diabetics, people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or other pre-existing conditions face an even higher risk: They are 1.4 to 2.16 times as likely to have an eye stroke, the team said.
Neuro-ophthalmologist Cheng Hui-chen (鄭惠禎) said that eye strokes occur when there is insufficient blood flow to the tissues in the front part of the optic nerve, and while such strokes are sudden and painless, they can result in serious vision loss.
One patient she treated, a 67-year-old man, had lost the sight in his right eye, due to a lack of blood flow to the eye, she said.
Fortunately, using angiography, injections to dissolve blood clots in the optical arteries and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, doctors were able to largely restore the man’s vision, Cheng said.
Doctors already know about the link between air pollution and an increased risk of conjunctivitis, xerophthalmia (abnormal drying of the eye), retinal-vein occlusion and other conditions, but the research team hoped to expand upon those findings with their project, she said.
In the study, the team looked at 93 patients who had experienced eye strokes between 2001 and 2013, and compared their details with the data from 603 weather sensors and 78 air-quality sensors near the patients’ homes, she said.
The team found that an increase in air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and fine particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) or PM10 correlated with a significant increase in the rate of eye strokes, she said.
Air pollutants can enter the optical veins through the respiratory tract, passing from the veins in the lungs to those in the eyes through the circulatory system, and causing blockages when they reach the eyes, she said.
One way to reduce the risk of eye strokes is to reduce exposure to air pollution by using public transportation instead of riding scooters, she said.
The elderly and those with preexisting conditions should also wear masks on days when pollution levels are high, she said.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS