Air pollution: fine particles would lead to an increased risk of glaucoma

in collaboration with

Pr Antoine Brézin (Head of Ophthalmology Department at Cochin Hospital,)

A chronic eye disease, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in France after age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Due to atmospheric pollution and in particular fine particles, the risk of developing one would be increased.

For this work, the scientists included 683 participants living in the city of Bordeaux. These volunteers, who were followed between 2009 and 2020, were regularly subjected to eye examinations, every two years. In parallel with these measurements, the team of French researchers also studied their exposure to atmospheric pollution over the past ten years. To do this, their home address was cross-referenced with data from annual exposure maps for each pollutant. The final objective being to evaluate the evolution of the thickness of the nerve fiber layer of their retina.

Thinning of part of the retina

Result: the experts observed that people who had been exposed to higher concentrations of fine particles had a faster thinning of the retinal nerve layer over time. They thus deduce a “possible increased risk of glaucoma for residents of areas polluted with fine particles, even at levels below the current regulatory thresholds of the European Union“.

Towards a lowering of European regulatory pollution thresholds?

According to Laure Gayraud, doctoral student in epidemiology and first author, the results of this study “confirm previous observations on the effects of atmospheric pollution on neurodegenerative processes, here at the ocular level. They constitute an additional argument in favor of lowering European regulatory thresholds, as recommended by the WHO, as well as reducing the effective exposure of the French population, which continues to exceed current regulatory thresholds in places.“.

For Cécile Delcourt, research director at Inserm, this work “documents the effects of air pollutants on neurological aging. Taking the example of ocular aging, she suggests that exposure to high concentrations of pollutants over time could lead to an acceleration of neurological aging, as observed in studies on brain aging.