According to a worldwide study, the number of premature deaths and years of disability from cardio-vascular ailments attributable to particulate matter air pollution has risen from 26 million in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2019. Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, on Wednesday, the study analysed particulate matter pollution as a risk factor for death and disability from data available of 204 countries.
What is Particulate Matter Pollution?
PM Pollution consists of minute particles of liquid and solids in the air and inhaled into the lungs in the form of vehicle emissions, dust, smoke, soot and pollen.
The harmful exposure towards PM Pollution was estimated and drawn using the 2019 update to the GBD study that incorporated information using satellite and ground level reporting.
Further, researchers from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran analysed the years of life lost due to premature deaths (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
The study & analysis showed that the total number of premature deaths and cardio-vascular disability attributable to PM air pollution increased 31% worldwide.
Gender and Socio-economic Disparity
According to the study, an increase in overall deaths could be seen more in men with a whopping 43% compared to 28.2% in women.
Between the year 1990 and 2019, there was a 36.7 percent decrease in age-standardised premature deaths and while fewer people died from the disease, the ones having cardiovascular disability lived longer.
Additionally, it was found that regions with higher socioeconomic conditions experienced lower numbers of lost years of life due to cardiovascular diseases attributed to PM pollution. These regions also reported higher years lived with disability.
Conversely, regions with lower socioeconomic conditions faced more lives lost but fewer years lived with disability.
Farshad Farzadfar, senior author in study, noted that while it was positive news that less people were dying due to PM pollution and indicates betterment in healthcare and infrastructure, the increase in disability adjusted life years suggests that more people ‘have to’ live with disability.
It was also found that between 1990 to 2019, age standardised CVD death due to outdoor particulate matter pollution rose by 8.1% while age standardised death and disability attributed to household PM pollution usually produced because of cooking oils and fumes, charcoal, crop residue etc were down by 65.4%.
To this Farzadfar noted that the reason for decrease of household PM pollution could be better use and access of cleaner fuels and more structural changes in households. Improved cookstoves, chimney hoods and better ventilation proved to be effective in reducing pollution exposure.
Limitations of the Study
Like any other study worldwide, this too addressed some of its limitations.
Primarily, the use of regional figures for assessing exposure overlooked individual exposure levels leaving out people with differentiated geographical locations.
The study also noted that the findings might not be directly applicable to other health conditions arising out of other pollutants.
(With inputs from PTI)
