Air Pollution May Cause Up to 33 Million Emergency Visits for Asthma Each Year.
Every year, millions of people around the world have asthma attacks caused by polluted air and have to go to emergency departments.Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease, affecting 358 million people worldwide.
It has long been suspected that air polluted by exhaust fumes and other sources can trigger asthma attacks.A new study has supported those suspicions and, for the first time, measured air pollution’s impact on asthma around the world.
The findings, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggest that exhaust emissions and other forms of pollution may be responsible for severe asthma attacks.
The team first examined the number of emergency visits for asthma in 55 countries and Hong Kong. They then combined that information with global pollution levels derived from atmospheric models, remote-sensing instruments, ground monitors and satellites, producing highly meaningful results.
The research shows that:Between 9 and 23 million emergency visits for asthma worldwide each year—equivalent to 8% to 20% of all asthma emergency visits globally—may be triggered by ozone, a pollutant formed when emissions from cars, power plants and other sources react in sunlight.
A further 5 to 10 million emergency visits for asthma each year—equivalent to 4% to 9% of the global total—are associated with tiny particles that enter the lungs’ airways.
About half of the emergency visits linked to polluted air are estimated to occur in South and East Asian countries, particularly India and China.
Although the air in the United States is relatively cleaner than in South and East Asia, the number of emergency visits for attacks triggered by ozone or particulate matter is still high.
The team also notes that countries such as India and China may bear a greater asthma burden because of their large populations and a tendency to impose fewer restrictions on factories that produce smoke and other pollutants capable of triggering breathing difficulties.
The fact that approximately 95% of the world’s population lives in places with polluted air also brings the danger into focus.
Experts identify air pollution as the leading environmental health risk factor worldwide.
This study shows that millions of patients have asthma attacks each year because they are breathing polluted air.
The team’s lead researcher, Associate Professor Susan C. Anenberg, says that to reduce the global burden of asthma, countries need to support projects targeting known pollutants such as ozone, fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide.
Cleaner air achieved through such work would reduce not only the burden of asthma, but other health problems too, helping everyone breathe more easily.Source
1)Air pollution leads to millions of ER visits for asthma attacks worldwide
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