Brothers Sew & Vac carries the #1 rated, world leader, IQAir® Purifiers for good reason: because you can’t take the purity of the air you breathe for granted.  Read some of these excerpts from recent news compiled from Air Quality News from IQAir® (the world leader in air purifiers). You’ll think again about the importance of clean air even if you don’t have chronic allergies:

• There is evidence that the quality of air you breathe at night plays an important role in the quality of sleep you get. In fact, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that air pollution significantly increases the risk of a group of disorders known as Sleep-Disordered Breathing (SDB).

  The Harvard study found that as the presence of air pollution increased, so also did problems breathing during sleep…The Harvard study linking air pollution to sleep quality offers more evidence that an air purifier may be as important as the right mattress and bedding when it’s time to sleep.

• Inversion leads to air quality crisis in Salt Lake City. When the outdoor air is polluted, one of the safest places to be is indoors, especially where the indoor air is being cleaned by an IIQAir® high-performance air purifier. That has certainly been the case recently in Salt Lake City, where a polluted mass of air has been stagnating over Utah’s largest urban center…

  In response to the inversion, more than 100 doctors delivered a letter calling on the governor of Utah to declare a public emergency. Much of their concern was focused on pregnant women. “Some women who are pregnant right now are going to miscarry … and a few more babies are going to be born prematurely,” Dr. Kurtly Jones said in a news report. Another major concern during an inversion is asthma. Research published in 2010 by the Utah Department of Health reported an increase in emergency department visits related to asthma when winter inversions occur…a weather inversion last October over Pittsburgh set off carbon monoxide alarms in buildings throughout the city.

• Researchers: Poor air quality increases autism rate
  

  Exposure to traffic-related air pollution during pregnancy and in infancy can double the risk of autism, according to a new study conducted by the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. In addition, the researchers found that the increase in autism occurred even when the mother did not live near a busy road but was exposed to PM2.5 and PM10 on a regional level.

•  Air pollution linked to accelerated brain aging

  New research presented this month at a national gathering of scientists studying the aging process underscores the potential health benefits of air purifiers in homes where older adults live.

  Exposure to air pollution can accelerate cognitive decline, new research shows.

  The new study, presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, concludes that exposure to high levels of air pollution ages the brain prematurely. The study was conducted by a team of scientists at the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology.

  Researchers studied cognitive test scores of more than 15,000 adults over 50 years old and mapped their test scores with air pollution concentration maps. The results showed that the brains of those living in the areas of the highest pollution aged three years faster than those who lived in the areas of least pollution.

•  Choosing the right air purifier can help alleviate COPD symptoms

  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer. The most common forms of the disease are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. About 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD, and experts estimate another 12 million remain undiagnosed.

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says exposure to air pollution particles may aggravate COPD and be responsible for COPD-related hospitalization and premature deaths. Recent research suggests air pollution may play a role in the onset of COPD as well. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends reducing exposure to air pollutants at home and work to prevent early development of COPD.

  The right air cleaning system can effectively remove a large percentage of the particles associated with COPD problems indoors. But the wrong air cleaner can be ineffective or, even worse, dangerous.

• Burgers may be delicious, but they’re bad for the air

  Commercial grills are the second largest source of particle pollution in some regions.

  Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are closely studying the second-largest source of particle air pollution in Southern California: commercial grilling, especially of hamburgers.

  The research is being conducted by the university’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), a group also known for helping the the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) evaluate the effectiveness of various air purifiers. The attention of the CE-CERT researchers is currently focused on commercial grills and kitchens and the role they play in fine particle air pollution. During testing late last week at a media event, the researchers cooked up hundreds of burgers over open flames on a commercial grill to test particle emissions.

  AQMD and CE-CERT say the pollution from commercial charbroilers in the region is twice as much as that produced by heavy-duty diesel trucks.

  “For comparison, an 18-wheeler diesel-engine truck would have to drive 143 miles on the freeway to put out the same mass of particles as a single charbroiled hamburger patty,” said Bill Welch, a lead engineer of the study.

• Traffic air pollution is risk for pregnant women

  Pregnancy and traffic pollution don’t mix.

  There are plenty of studies that detail the risks of poor air quality for pregnant women and their fetuses. The studies provide ample evidence that expectant mothers should seriously consider investing in a high-performance air purifier.

  Now a new study of almost a quarter of a million women in Australia confirms a connection between air quality and healthy – or not-so-healthy – pregnancy. The study was published this month in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Researchers found that women living in high traffic-pollution areas had a 12 percent higher risk of developing a medical condition known as “preeclampsia.” The condition is also known as “toxemia.” Preeclampsia can cause a wide variety of health problems and even life-threatening risks for expectant mothers and their babies.

  Preeclampsia occurs when a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure or other symptoms in the late pregnancy, often in the third trimester, according to the National Institutes of Health. Although the exact cause of the disorder is unknown, diet, genes, and autoimmune disorders have been suspected causes. To that list, add exposure to air pollution from traffic.

  According to the new study, the risk of pregnant women developing preeclampsia increased to 30 percent for women in their third trimester, and even higher when other major risks factors for preeclampsia were also present.

  Not just for allergy sufferers: everyone deserves cleaner air for healthier living.

IQAir® is the BEST air purifier you can buy – at Brothers Sew & Vac, 4 locations in Maryland and Washington DC. Contact us today and ask us about IQAir® and what it can do for your quality of living- we’re happy to answer your questions.

To read more about these studies on IQAir, click here…