Polluted Air Damage Extends Beyond the Lungs

Air pollution is a major contributor to lung disease, but a study shows that it can damage other organs as well. Rising air pollutants cause stillbirth

The ill effects of air pollution are not limited to the respiratory tract but also include heart disease, lung cancer, brain stroke, autoimmune diseases and premature birth, fetal growth restriction among others.

Health Consequences of Air Pollution

Environmental factors have been linked with the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and it has now been established that the environmental exposures of particles like trichloroethene (TCE), silica, mercury, pristane etc. are linked with the higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

"A autoimmune diseases like autoimmune hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic sclerosis (SSc), are chronic and potentially life-threatening inflammatory disorders, but it is evident that such diseases are influenced by genetic, hormonal and environmental factors", said Dr Uma Kumar - Prof and Head, Department of Rheumatology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Air Pollution - Pollutants - Health Effect - Efforts to Reduce
Nearly 2.4 million deaths every year are attributable to air pollution. Air pollutants may be solid particles, liquid droplets or gases. Proper planning methods should be adopted to reduce air pollution.

‘As a major environmental risk factor, air pollution has evolved as a serious problem in recent decades with high toxicological impact on human health ranging from lungs to other organs and leading to 7 million premature deaths annually across the globe.’

"A study has established that there is a relation between the environmental factors and the autoimmune diseases. In the study, we had observed that the inflammatory levels of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis rose when exposed to the PM2.5", said Kumar.

"In the study conducted in the Delhi NCR some years back, it was observed that more than two thirds of the population had inflammatory markers and occupational stress markers positive. And, out of the total, 18 per cent have an autoimmune antibody positive that suggests that subclinical autoimmunity was being developed in them", Kumar added.

From smog enveloping the cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major risk. The outdoor air pollution in both cities and rural areas is causing fine particulate matter which results in strokes, heart diseases, lung cancer and acute and chronic respiratory diseases. According to the World Health Organization, around 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution, while using polluting open fires or simple stoves for cooking fuelled by kerosene, biomass (wood, animal dung and crop waste) and coal. The combined effects of ambient air pollution and household air pollution is associated with 7 million premature deaths annually.

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The increase in the particles in the air is implicated in allergic skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis and eczema. Pollutants like ultraviolet radiation, organic compounds, oxides, particulate matter, affect the skin, said Dr Manish Jangra, Dermatologist at RML Delhi. "The Exposure of the skin to air pollutants has been associated with skin aging and inflammatory or allergic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis or acne and atopic. Air pollutants damage the skin by inducing oxidative stress. Dermatitis while skin cancer is among the most serious effects of it", said Jangra.

While talking about the exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, Fertility Expert Dr Archana Dhawan Bajaj said that the pollutants can increase the risk of premature birth and low birth weight and even stillbirth. Premature birth happens before 37 weeks of pregnancy while low birth weight is when a baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces. Stillbirth is when a baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

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"Along with causing detrimental effects on the respiratory diseases, the air pollution may lead to lower immunity in pregnancy with worsening complications like fetal growth restriction. Vulnerable age groups like babies, children, adolescents, pregnant women are most vulnerable to air pollution. Vehicular emissions and outdoor pollution along with indoor pollution like dust, viruses, bacteria contribute to adverse outcomes. Small particulate matter are transmitted in maternal lungs and get carried to the foetus through placental circulation. This leads to preterm labour, miscarriages and low birth weight", said Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Dr Rinku Sengupta Dhar.

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