Study: high pollen concentrations increase blood pressure
A high concentration of pollen can increase blood pressure in allergy sufferers, according to a Swiss study. The effect is much more pronounced in women and people who are overweight.
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
Researchers at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) were able to demonstrate for the first time that pollen has an effect on cardiovascular disease. The study, published on Friday in the journal Environmental Health, involved 400 participants in the Basel region in 2021 and 2022.
“Pollen allergy is a growing public health problem,” the researchers declared. The pollen season is likely to become longer and more intense as a result of climate change. It is estimated that around 20% of adults globally are allergic to pollen.
+ Intense pollen year leads to severe stress for allergy sufferers
Their study found that during periods with very high pollen concentrations, systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased on average by 2.0 mmHg and 1.5 mmHg respectively, compared to no-pollen days. Blood pressure effects were already evident at small pollen concentrations and continuously increased with increasing pollen in the air. The effect was markedly stronger for women and people with a high body-mass index.
+ New technology brings relief to people with pollen allergies
According to the specialists, these results are important for public health. Pollen allergies and hypertension are two of the most common chronic diseases in Europe,” they write.
It is therefore important that the health effects of allergenic trees are taken into account to a greater extent in future, for example in urban planning. Urban trees are important for providing shade, particularly in view of climate change, but there are alternatives to highly allergenic birch trees, the researchers write.
Adapted from French by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage
More
How a top Swiss university is screening Chinese students
More
Switzerland, the promised land of coats of arms
More
Swiss youth in vocational training seek jobs less prone to automation
More
Swiss pharmacies brace for shake-up as deregulation looms
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.