A new study has revealed that the smoke from a car’s exhaust is more detrimental to women’s health than it is to men’s.
The study was conducted at the University of Manitoba in Canada and it was observed that diesel fumes increase the levels of proteins that are linked with cardiac diseases.
Ten non-smokers, comprising five women and five men, were chosen for this study. They were asked to inhale the smoke for four hours at a time for the trial, whereas they had previously spent another four hours in the fresh air. The experiment was carried out thrice in a single month, using three different quantities of diesel smoke.
The researchers observed changes in the subjects’ blood components that are associated with inflammation, infection, and heart disease in both sexes. However, the women were found to have higher levels of proteins that hardened the arteries. This may raise the likelihood of having a cardiac arrest or stroke, though further research is needed to establish it.
The study’s co-author, Professor Nilofer Mukherjee, claimed that these are only preliminary findings and added that they indicate the harmful nature of diesel fumes on women.
The results of the study were presented at the European Respiratory Society’s (ERS) International Congress at Barcelona in Spain.
