Studies show that air pollution negatively impacts every stage of life
New research shows that air pollution harms people at all stages of life, including low sperm counts and impaired fetal development.
A review of the significant evidence on the effects of air pollution, drawn from over 35,000 studies over the past decade, details how air pollution harms us from prenatal to old age.
Researchers from the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London said particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are particularly harmful. Both come from car exhaust fumes.
There is no evidence to pinpoint a threshold at which PM2.5 causes no harm, even for people living in the least polluted suburbs. London Still affected, they said.
The authors write:
“They affect our quality of life and cost society significantly through additional health and social care costs, as well as through learning, working and contributing to society.”
During pregnancy, air pollution adversely affects fetal development and can cause low birth weight, miscarriage, and low sperm count in men.
In children, it can inhibit lung growth, cause asthma, and affect blood pressure, cognitive performance, and mental health.
In adulthood, the likelihood of premature death from multiple chronic diseases, cancer, and stroke increases.
“Perhaps the most important new finding is the impact of air pollution on both mental health and brain health, including dementia, and early life effects that may lead to future health burdens within the population. relevant evidence,” the authors wrote.
“Both represent significant but currently unquantified costs to society and the economy.”
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited as a cause of death for an individual.
She died at the age of 9 in 2013 after suffering an asthma attack from inhaling traffic fumes.
Public Health England estimates that air pollution kills up to 43,000 people a year in the UK and could cost as much as £18.6 billion by 2035 if nothing is done.
The authors of the current study conclude that “policies should aim to reduce the accumulated harm from air pollution and declining health, in addition to protecting those who have become vulnerable to current pollution levels.” is,” he said.
This work, Greater London Authority World Health Organization, British Commission on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution, Royal College of Physiciansthe Institute for Health Effects, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/imperial-college-london-no2-london-greater-london-authority-royal-college-of-physicians-b2320938.html Studies show that air pollution negatively impacts every stage of life