A study of more than 115 million Medicare patients aged over 65 has concluded that even short-term exposure to fine particle air pollution significantly increases the risk of contracting cardiovascular and respiratory diseases

A new study has demonstrated the strong correlation between air pollution and air quality and the level of costs incurred in by elderly patients seeking medical attention The study took in millions of Medicare records of both in- and out-patients between 1989 and 1991 – all the patients were white and aged between 65 and 84 years