Signs of accelerated aging were found in women near a coal-fired power plant.
Indian and Swedish scientists studied residents in the vicinity of the Parka thermal power plant in India. It turned out that for women the biological age is more advanced than the number in the passport than for men.
The researchers compared two areas: where the wind carries the station's emissions - the far side - and where it blows into the station. They took air samples and analyzed the blood of 49 residents. Based on the activity of the genes, the biological age was calculated - an indicator of the body's condition - and compared to the number in the passport.
The amount of fine PM2.5 particles in the air was not significantly different. The difference was in the composition: where the emissions went, more vanadium, iron, thallium and selenium were found. In such residents, genes related to inflammation were more active, and cellular energy production processes were suppressed.
However, scientists aren't entirely sure whether coal plants are to blame. The authors suggest that in addition to thermal power plants, this may be due to additional exposure to smoke at home: women cook more often with wood and dung, so they breathe not only dirty air from the street, but also smoke from the stove.
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