Pollution fears are misplaced while toxins thrive indoors air filters can reduce heart and lung disease, a new study reveals, because air quality is so poor inside modern houses

Howieson, Stirling and Duffy, Marisa (2008) Pollution fears are misplaced while toxins thrive indoors air filters can reduce heart and lung disease, a new study reveals, because air quality is so poor inside modern houses. The Herald.

[thumbnail of strathprints014123.pdf]
Preview
PDF. Filename: strathprints014123.pdf
Final Published Version

Download (11kB)| Preview

Abstract

Following the smoking ban, advocates of clean air might have believed that the battle was largely won. However, worrying new research highlights the pernicious effects of other life-threatening pollutants. Most worrying is the fact that these are pollutants that occur inside the home.A Danish study of non-smokers aged between 60 and 75 found that the use of an air filter in the home for only 48 hours improved vascular function in the participants as much as stopping smoking would do in a smoker. When the high-efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters were used to clean the air in the apartments of 21 older couples, their bloodvessel function improved by about 8%.

ORCID iDs

Howieson, Stirling ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4169-4542 and Duffy, Marisa;