DVT: There’s another, unsuspected, cause

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may not be caused only by long-haul flights and lengthy inactivity – it could also be the result of air pollution.

People with high levels of air pollution particles in their lungs are 70 per cent more likely to suffer DVT, researchers have discovered.

They worked out the risk after evaluating the health profiles of 870 DVT patients from the Lombardy region of Italy and compared them with 1210 healthy controls.

The association is not so surprising.  Researchers have already established a link between air pollution and heart disease and stroke.

(Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008; 168: 920-7).

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