Laboratory rats who breathed Beijing』s highly polluted air gained weight and experienced cardio-respiratory and metabolic dysfunctions after three to eight weeks of exposure.
實驗鼠吸入北京嚴重污染的空氣3-8周后,體重增加,心肺和代謝功能紊亂。
A study appearing in the March issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) placed pregnant rats and their offspring in two chambers, one exposed to outdoor Beijing air and the other containing an air filter that removed most of the air pollution particles.
一項發表在《美國實驗生物學學會聯合會雜誌》(FASEB)三月刊上的研究中,研究人員將孕鼠及其後代放置在兩個盒子里,一個被注入北京室外的空氣,另一個則裝有空氣過濾器,能除去大部分的空氣污染顆粒。
After only 19 days, the lungs and livers of pregnant rats exposed to the polluted air were heavier and showed increased tissue inflammation. These rats had 50 percent higher LDL cholesterol; 46 percent higher triglycerides; and 97 percent higher total cholesterol. Their insulin resistance level, a precursor of Type 2 diabetes, was higher than their clean air-breathing counterparts.
All of these measures support the study』s conclusion that air pollution exposure results in metabolic dysfunction, a precursor to obesity. Indeed, pollution-exposed rats were significantly heavier at the end of their pregnancy even though the rats in both groups were fed the same diet.