Air pollution impacts every stage of human life, report finds
From fetal development to dementia, 10 years of research demonstrates the adverse effects of air pollution.
According to a study, air pollution affects every stage of human life, from fetal development and teenage cognitive skills to adult mental health. report which summarizes the findings of more than 35,000 studies from around the world.
Imperial College London’s Environmental Research Group published a review of ten years of scientific research into air pollution on Monday.
The London university team looked at findings from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UK Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution, the Royal College of Physicians, the Health Effects Institute and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
“The most important new finding is evidence related to both the impact of air pollution on brain health, including mental health and dementia, and the early life consequences that may lead to future health burdens within the population,” the report said. .
“Both represent significant but currently unquantified costs to society and the economy,” it added.
The review found links between air pollution and newborn health in the first weeks of life, birth weight, miscarriages and stillbirths.
The fetus may be vulnerable because a mother can inhale air pollution particles, which can lead to adverse developmental effects, the report said.
Chemicals associated with pollution can enter a pregnant woman’s blood and alter blood flow, potentially retarding or retarding fetal growth.
According to WHO, more than 20 million low birth weight babies are born each year and more than 15 million are born prematurely.
But the impact of air pollution on reproductive health is not limited to the mother. Lower sperm counts are also seen in men exposed to air pollution.
Meanwhile, another study cited in the report suggests that “exposure to particulate pollution” increases the risk of developing dementia and accelerates cognitive decline.
Recent studies also showed that air pollution can stunt lung growth in children, affect their blood pressure, and affect their cognitive and mental health.
Imperial’s experts said a study of 2,000 children aged eight and nine found that “on average, a child had lost about 5 percent of their expected lung volume because of the air pollution they were breathing.”
“This effect was most clearly linked to exposure to NO2 [nitrogen oxide]which is often used as a tracer for diesel exhaust emissions,” their report said.
The report also found that air pollution causes asthma.
From 2017 to 2019, a study by Imperial College London estimated that poor air quality in London led to more than 1,700 hospitalizations for asthma and severe lung disease.
“This was 7 percent of all childhood asthma admissions in the capital,” the report said.
The review also showed that exposure to air pollution can increase heart death, stroke risk and the development of cardiovascular disease later in life.
A European study looked at strokes in nearly 100,000 people over a 10-year period and found some evidence of a link between long-term exposure to PM2.5 – tiny air pollution particles that can get past the nose and throat and enter the body. respiratory system – and stroke, especially in the over 60s.