Air pollution has long been linked to lung cancer, stroke and respiratory disease, and now research has found that it can lead to osteoporosis, as well. Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health studied the bone mass and density of 3,717 people living in villages near Hyderabad, India. These were compared to fine particulate air pollution levels, which averaged more than three times the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The researchers also surveyed in-home cooking over wood, coal and other biomass sources. The results showed that exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with lower levels of bone mass, and that cooking over fires did not have that effect. “Inhalation of polluting particles could lead to bone mass loss through the oxidative stress and inflammation caused by air pollution,” says lead author Otavio T. Ranzani.