Air pollution has been linked to higher incidences of breast cancer in a new study conducted by the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute published a joint study on Monday finding that living in an area with high levels of particulate matter air pollution is associated with an increased incidence of breast cancer.
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Particulate matter is a combination of solid and liquid air droplets and comes from a variety of sources, such as motor vehicle exhaust, combustion energy production, industrial emissions, and fire smoke.
This type of air pollution has also been correlated with increasing incidences of dementia, as well as other acute health problems for those with asthma or cardiovascular disease and pregnant women.
The NIH study measured particulate matter 2.5 microns in size, which is small enough to be inhaled deeply into the lungs, and correlated present and historical data from the Environmental Protection Agency's air quality tracker with breast cancer patient information.
"We observed an 8% increase in breast cancer incidence for living in areas with higher PM2.5 exposure. Although this is a relatively modest increase, these findings are significant given that air pollution is a ubiquitous exposure that impacts almost everyone," said Alexandra White, the lead author and head of the Environment and Cancer Epidemiology Group at NIEHS.
The study's authors also divided data based on the type of breast cancer tumors, finding that PM2.5 exposure is more highly correlated with estrogen-positive tumors, the most common form of breast cancer in the United States.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., with an estimated 300,590 new cases expected in 2023, according to the NCI.
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The American Cancer Society predicts that 43,700 will die from breast cancer in 2023 and estimates that the chance a woman will die from the disease is 1 in 39.
There are more than 38 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S., including women still being treated.