Living in areas with high levels of air pollution places individuals at a higher risk of developing retinal vascular changes associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Previous studies have linked air pollution with heart disease but a new study is the first to examine the relationship by photographing tiny blood vessels in a person's eyes, the only place that doctors may view such microvasculature without surgery.
According to the study published in PLoS Medicine, individuals with longer exposure to high levels of pollution have the blood vessels of someone seven years older.
"Such a change would translate to a three percent increase in heart disease for a woman living with high levels of air pollution as compared to a woman in a cleaner area," said Sara Adar, research assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
