Living in an area with high levels of air pollution increases the risk of death from all causes, finds a new study that highlights the importance of air quality control worldwide.
An international research team of representatives from the University of Colorado, Harvard University, Brazil, South Korea found that older Americans are more at risk of shortening their lives due to polluted air.
Pollution does not directly kill people, but it worsens their overall health and makes them vulnerable to developing a variety of conditions that can lead to death, such as lung, brain, and heart problems.
The results of this study are far-reaching, with the April World Health Organization (WHO) report showing that 99% of the world’s people breathe polluted air every day.
The researchers found that older Americans living in areas with high PM2.5 pollution (red) had a higher risk of all-cause mortality than their peers in less polluted areas (blue and green).
The researchers, who presented their findings Tuesday, the Open JAMA Network used data from 2010 to 2015 from the National Center for Health Statistics to create a particle profile for nearly every census-designated area in the Americas.
The level of particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) measured in the air in the United States PM 2.5 is generally considered the most dangerous common air pollutant.
Airborne PM2.5 levels are divided into decimals in ten categories based on the level of particulate matter in the air compared to other areas.
The areas with the most polluted air were placed at 10 decimal places, and those with the lowest decimal places at 1.
They found that the highest prevalence of airborne particulate matter in the United States was found in the Los Angeles area, the Philadelphia area, the state of Ohio, and other parts of the Deep South.
Much of the western part of the country – less sparsely populated than the east – was in the decimal. Some regions were not included in the study because no data was collected.
They then compared all-cause deaths in each area of the census, based on air pollution decimals classified by age cohort.
Of course, older Americans were more likely to die in all populations.
However, large differences in mortality were found among those in different decimals. For example, a child aged 75 to 84 who lived on December 9-10 had a 1.38% probability of dying in a given year of study, while the probability of death for those in the decimal 1 was only 1.19%.
WHO warns that almost every person in the world lives in an area where air pollution levels exceed safe levels. Pictured: A man walks through fog in Portland, Oregon on September 14, 2020
High levels of pollution expose people to large amounts of nitrogen dioxide and microparticles, which can be dangerous and cause serious health problems. Pictured: A man stands in a smog-filled area of New Delhi, India
This is a difference from the 0.19% risk of death from all causes.
For people aged 65 to 74, there was a 0.31% difference in death rates when comparing those in the decimal 1 with those in the decimal 9.
As the population got younger, the death risk narrowed, as expected, the gaps in death risk narrowed, but the difference was present for all ages 35 and older in one way or another.
The researchers also found that black Americans are more likely to live in the decimal 9 or 10. Regions that fall into the higher decimals also have larger poorer populations.
“The conclusion we can draw from these findings is that government policies to improve air quality in the United States should be fair,” the researchers wrote.
“When planning measures to combat air pollution, the social, work, geographical and economic context in which the population lives should be taken into account”.
The number of Americans, and people around the world in general, consuming dangerous levels of air pollutants is increasing at an alarming rate, meaning that death rates may worsen over time.
A WHO report shows that almost all air breathed by humans contains dangerous amounts of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide.
The organization notes that these middle- and low-income countries are more at risk than a well of water.
“Without dust… it can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular (stroke) and respiratory consequences,” the WHO said in a statement.
There is increasing evidence that particulate matter affects other organs and causes other diseases as well.”
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
