Air pollution and health

Abstract

The detrimental health effects of air pollution have always attracted intense interest among researchers from around the world. In 2010, WHO estimated that more than 6 million people die prematurely every year because of air pollution. 1 Lim SS Vos T Flaxman AD et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012; 380: 2224-2260 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (8390) Google Scholar Both ambient air pollution and indoor air pollution have been linked to various adverse health outcomes, especially in people with pre-existing medical conditions. Although it might seem obvious that air pollution can affect people with pre-existing airway diseases, there are few controlled human exposure studies that can provide irrefutable evidence of adverse effects after acute exposure to an individual pollutant. 2 Brunekreef B Holgate ST Air pollution and health. Lancet. 2002; 360: 1233-1242 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2957) Google Scholar Such controlled human exposure studies might also enable a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms leading to possible adverse outcomes. 3 Rom WN Boushey H Caplan A Experimental human exposure to air pollutants is essential to understand adverse health effects. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2013; 49: 691-696 Crossref PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar Ambient air contains many pollutants including gases such as ozone, oxides of nitrogen, and sulphur dioxide along with particulates of different sizes. Because of the complexity of the composition of air pollutants and the difficulty of precisely measuring exposure, identifying the role of different pollutants in respiratory morbidity is no simple task. Quantification of pollutant exposure in a study population is imprecise, because the levels of different components might vary with time and with the surroundings of the studied participants. Despite these difficulties, there have been several important reports published in 2013 that improve our understanding of the adverse health effects of air pollution.