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Original article: Investigadores chilenos revelan cómo la contaminación ambiental altera el sueño y gatilla enfermedades crónicas

The harmful effects of environmental pollution have become a recurring and urgent topic every winter in our country.

Unfortunately, society seems increasingly accustomed to a scenario of environmental alerts, medical emergencies, and school absenteeism caused by respiratory illnesses during this period, which then extend into families, affecting the workplace as well.

In this context, recent research led by Dr. Juan Carrillo Azócar from the Environmental Department of the Chilean Medical Association and the Sleep Unit at Quilpué Hospital warns of a «pathological triad»: a mechanism by which polluted air severely disrupts the nighttime rest of Chileans, transforming respiratory inflammation into other chronic illnesses that ultimately impact the rest of the body.

According to data, Chile leads in air pollution-related mortality rates in South America, recording over 14,900 deaths annually linked to the effects of fine particulate matter.

The central finding of this technical report shows that between 24% and 37% of the damage to the heart and metabolism caused by pollution occurs solely because the contaminants affect sleep architecture and deep rest.

By inflaming the airways and disrupting the nervous system at night, this fundamental metabolic process becomes interrupted, triggering a cascade of effects that directly impacts five families of chronic diseases.

What are these areas? In the cardiovascular realm, sleep fragmentation raises blood pressure, meaning that improving rest is technically equivalent to prescribing a common antihypertensive medication.

Additionally, the neurodegenerative system is under threat as sleep deprivation interrupts the brain’s cleansing of toxins that occurs overnight, leading to the accumulation of harmful proteins.

This lack of rest also impacts mental health, increasing incidences of anxiety and depression, while in the oncological and respiratory areas, it reduces immune defenses and melatonin, a key hormone for repairing cell DNA, creating a vicious cycle of perpetual inflammation.

What Can Be Done?

Although the Chilean Medical Association has proposed urgent public policies ranging from incorporating sleep care in environmental alerts due to poor ventilation to initiating pilot purification programs in the so-called «sacrifice zones» of the country, such as Quintero-Puchuncaví, Coronel, and Huasco, this topic has not fully permeated the population, possibly due to a lack of awareness.

To delve deeper into the conclusions of this recent report and discuss the urgent environmental health policies the country needs to implement, researchers invite the academic community, health professionals, social leaders, and the general public to participate in the symposium Air Pollution and Chronic Diseases: Sleep Disorders, Cardiovascular Diseases, Mental Health Disorders, Cancer, and Respiratory Diseases, where Dr. Juan Carrillo will detail these findings alongside a multidisciplinary panel of experts from Chile, Brazil, and Italy.

This free, hybrid format dissemination event will take place on Friday, June 26, starting at 09:00 hrs in the auditorium of the Chilean Medical Association (Esmeralda 678, Santiago).

Registration must be completed through THIS FORM.

La entrada Chilean Researchers Reveal How Air Pollution Disrupts Sleep and Triggers Chronic Diseases se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.