SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, finds for every air pollution increase as measured as particulate matter of 10 micrograms per square meter, the risk of deep vein thrombosis increased 70 percent.

Study leader Dr. Andrea Baccarelli of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues compared 870 patients diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in Lombardy, Italy, between 1995 and 2005 to 1,210 controls who did not have deep vein thrombosis.

The researchers then used the average concentration of particulate matter for each area -- obtained by monitors located at 53 different sites -- to estimate the level of exposure over the year before diagnosis.

In addition -- using a test administered clinically -- the researchers found the blood of patients in both the study subjects and control group members showed a shorter clotting time with higher levels of exposure to particulate matter.

The association between particle exposure and blood clots was stronger in men than in women, but disappeared among women taking hormones -- such hormone therapies are independent risk factors for deep vein thrombosis, the study authors say.

 BREAKING STORIES

Non-toxic nanotherapy for cancer created

Resveratrol seen to boost quality of life

Sen. Kennedy begins healthcare push

Diabetic dietary adherence effective

Get smart about eating and get smarter

Boy dying of cancer while parents battle

Hollywood sign upsets Plymouth vets

Willie Andrews of N.E. Patriots arrested

Group: Fuel standards program has flaws

Ten percent may have had silent stroke

New Crohn's genetic risk factors ID'd

Probe launched into Celtics fan's death

Volcanoes may be active under Arctic ice

'Click and Clack' earn TV series

Mineral nutrients found on Mars

Low-income senior drug coverage cuts costs

Zoo hopes to get cranes to mate

Beetle may have stirred up Mass. bee swarm

Frogs found whose toes morph into claws

New stem cells can regenerate heart tissue