Impact of Air Pollution on Global Burden of Disease in 2019

Meghnath Dhimal,Paolo Trucillo,Daniele Sofia,Mandira Lamichhane Dhimal,Bihungum Bista,Francesco Chirico,Sitasma Sharma,Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi,Binaya Chalise

doi:10.3390/pr9101719

Abstract

Air pollution consisting of ambient air pollution and household air pollution (HAP) threatens health globally. Air pollution aggravates the health of vulnerable people such as infants, children, women, and the elderly as well as people with chronic diseases such as cardiorespiratory illnesses, little social support, and poor access to medical services. This study is aimed to estimate the impact of air pollution on global burden of disease (GBD). We extracted data about mortality and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to air pollution from 1990 to 2019. The extracted data were then organized and edited into a usable format using STATA version 15. Furthermore, we also estimated the impacts for three categories based on their socio-demographic index (SDI) as calculated by GBD study. The impacts of air pollution on overall burden of disease by SDI, gender, type of pollution, and type of disease is estimated and their trends over the period of 1990 to 2019 are presented. The attributable burden of ambient air pollution is increasing over the years while attributable burden of HAP is declining over the years, globally. The findings of this study will be useful for evidence-based planning for prevention and control of air pollution and reduction of burden of disease from air pollution at global, regional, and national levels.

Highlights

Air pollution is reported as a major environmental risk factor that poses a substantial threat to human health [1]
The burden of disease attributed to air pollution is considerably higher in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), where more than 90% of deaths occur, compared to high-income countries [1,6,7]
We extracted data about mortality and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) which are attributable to air pollution from 1990 to 2019

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution is reported as a major environmental risk factor that poses a substantial threat to human health [1]. Air pollution, both ambient air pollution (AAP) and household air pollution (HAP), accounts for 7 million premature deaths worldwide [2]. The morbidity and mortality due to AAP have escalated steadily over time, with an estimated 4.2 million annual deaths [3,8,9]. For this reason, it is important to monitor pollution data clearly and actuate optimized solutions in order to establish a new equilibrium among sustainability and human productivity and wellness [10]. HAP remains a great environmental health threat in low-and middle-income countries [13]

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Conclusion