Authors: Pasquale Ruffolo, Osvaldo Acquaviva, Francesco Grillo, Manuela Panunzio, Alessandra Paraggio, Paola Contaldi, Marco Trifuoggi.
Man modifies the environment, the environment modifies man. The various pollutants present in the environment in which we live can sometimes cause slow and progressive inflammatory processes in our organism; this process is called Low-grade chronic inflammation, a clinical syndrome not easy to diagnose early, because it is often clinically asymptomatic or with few symptoms and is frequently correlated with various viral or bacterial infections. This often precedes autoimmune diseases, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, neurological diseases, but above all tumors. Most affected are the inhabitants who live in environments polluted by industrial centers, often located on the outskirts of urban centers, which release toxic substances (cancer gas) into the air, where there is also intense vehicular traffic, or port areas, with both cruise ships and merchant ships dock there, as well as intensely busy airports. The most frequently detected carcinogenic and mutagenic substances are PAH, Nitro-PAH, diesel fumes, 1-3-Butadiene, Benzene, Formaldehyde, Chlorinated solvents, Vinyl chloride, Heavy metals, Asbestos, Acetaldehyde, Nitrogen dioxide etc. This chronic inflammatory process, not only of the respiratory tract, but also of "target" organs, can be exacerbated by the clumsy and excessive use of anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antihypertensive, cardiotonics, anti-diabetic, sedative, anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs, which in addition to masking any preventive symptoms of the worsening of the disease, accentuate the mechanisms of bioaccumulation of toxic substances in some organs, altering their functionality. An example of the severity of the combinations of environmental pollution and low-grade chronic inflammation (L.G.C.I.) in polluted sites and in port and airport areas is given by the increase in various oncological and neurological diseases with an increase in their incidence and a lowering of age of onset. These pathologies are caused by uncontrolled inflammation of cells which undergo inflammatory and sometimes self-harming mechanisms. Our objective is to highlight a correlation between environmental pollution, particularly c atmospheric pollution, and suicidal tendencies linked to anxiety-depressive forms often due to toxic substances present in these patients, especially if affected by tumors or neuro-damaging diseases, for place it as a paradigm for the identification of areas at high risk of onco-neuro toxic air pollution with possible suicide risk.
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