Bring Out Those N95/KF94 Masks Again
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As we enter into another summer of record-setting heat, drought-exacerbated fires are causing more air quality issues again. This time the Canadian fires are affecting everyone from those across Canada to much of the eastern part of the US. (On the left is a gif from the CBC)
There’s some great advice about how to protect you and your loved ones in many articles, like here and here. My favorite recommendations are:
Listen to your body (take it easy)
Drink lots of water
Wear a well-fitting mask (right sized KF94’s for kids if you can get them)
Consider an air filter with HEPA filters.
There are three additional points I wanted to share, two about the effects of bad air quality on our brains and behavior, and one practical tip —don't make it worse by generating any more bad air in your own kitchens! Here’s what I mean:
Really protect your young children and pregnant moms: Beyond the harmful effects of bad air quality we already know about like asthma, this study added to the evidence that bad air is harmful to the developing brains of babies in utero and young children. For pregnant women in the first trimester, higher exposures to bad air (NO2 or PM2.5) were associated with more behavioral problems in their 4-6 year olds (especially girls). Also, the researchers found that kids aged 2-4 yrs exposed consistently to bad air quality showed both more behavioral problems and lower IQ when they were 4 - 6 yrs. Here is a sentence from their Results:
“For postnatal exposures, each 2 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 (particulate matter) at age 2-4 yr was associated with a 3.59 unit higher Total Problems score and a 2.63 point lower child IQ.”
The cognitive effects of bad air are especially bad for seniors (possibly men worse than women): This study in China published in the eminent journal, PNAS, looked at standardized verbal and math test performance compared against air quality and found that people exposed to worse air (for longer durations) did worse. And the effect was especially pronounced for men over 64 with lower educational backgrounds. A scientist cited in this article in the Guardian newspaper interpreted the results as showing that people lost a few years of education with the long term exposure to bad air. The effect was mostly in verbal skills, not math.
Don’t make it worse inside by frying or broiling or stir-frying and if you do, USE your fume extractor fan. While tobacco smoke is a common cause of lung cancer, many people, especially women, can develop lung cancer without ever having smoked, especially a type of cancer called adenocarcinoma. This study from Taiwan published in the top journal, Nature, looked at whether this might be because these women were exposed to oil fumes from cooking (especially stir-frying with smoldering hot oil). They found a strong connection—more exposure to cooking fumes, higher risk of lung cancer. The good news? Using a fume extractor reduced the risk by 50%.
Stay Safe!