The impact of PM2.5 air pollutant exposure on human respiratory health: A literature review

Abstract

Exposure to air pollutant serves as an important indicator Global Burden of Disease. Most of the total mass of particles in the air consists of fine particles measuring between 0.1 and 2.5 µm or what commonly known as PM2.5. The common sources of PM2.5 exposure are motor vehicles, cooking activities (using wood fuel or charcoal briquettes), mining industry activities, and smoking. PM2.5 is the main component of air pollutant that causes respiratory disease because it can penetrate lung alveoli and enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation of the respiratory tract. This study aims to examine PM2.5 exposure to human respiratory disease based on previous studies which are summarized into one environmental health-based study. The design of this study is literature review using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases published in 2018-2023. From the screening process and conformity with the inclusion criteria, 9 reference articles were obtained in this study. From the 9 studies reviewed, there were 4 studies which stated that there was a significant relationship between PM2.5 exposure and asthma, while 5 other studies stated that there was a significant relationship between PM2.5 exposure and decrease in lung function that refers to COPD. So it can be concluded that exposure to PM2.5 causes human respiratory disease, especially asthma and COPD.