TUESDAY, Oct. 25, 2016 — Even young, healthy adults can suffer blood vessel damage from air pollution, a new study finds.

Periodic exposure to fine particulate matter — tiny pollutants from cars, factories, power plants and fires — isn’t a health risk only for the ill and the elderly, the researchers concluded.

The three-year study in Provo, Utah, tied this form of air pollution to abnormal changes in the blood of young adults, age 23 on average. Over time, these abnormalities could lead to heart disease, the researchers said.

The findings suggest that living in a polluted environment could promote development of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke more pervasively and at an earlier stage than previously thought, said study researcher Timothy O’Toole. He’s with the Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

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