Another dangerous aspect of air pollution has come to light, after which scientists insist that prolonged breathing in dense and dirty air can double the risk of affecting the sense of smell.
The sense of smell is a great gift of nature. It also affects eating habits and helps to identify odors and gases. When the sense of smell disappears, it is called anosmia in medical parlance. Patients with this condition can also suffer from depression.
Rampanathan Ramanathan of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine says he surveyed a number of people, many of whom had lived in traffic and pollution areas for some time. In this study, the most dangerous particles of air pollution are PM (particulate matter) 2.5 degrees, ie particles two and a half microns in size or smaller, which are thirty degrees less than the thickness of human hair. When humans are constantly exposed to PM2.5, their sense of smell may gradually be affected. That is, breathing in polluted air can double the risk of sniffing compared to normal conditions. They can contain dust, ash, smoke, soot, organic compounds and metal particles, all in the range of 2.5 ppm.
Science has shown that PM2.5 causes blood pressure, heart disease and many other diseases. Dr. Ramanathan and his colleagues surveyed 2,690 people aged 18 and over for three consecutive years. Of these, 538 lost their sense of smell, with an average age of 54, and the majority were men.
When these individuals were examined in detail, it was found that most of the people who lost their sense of smell had been living in important places of air pollution for a long time.
