To all climate change deniers: who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/ (World Health Organization): • Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health. By reducing air pollution levels, we can help countries reduce the global burden of disease from respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer. • The lower the levels of air pollution in a city, the better respiratory (both long- and short-term), and cardiovascular health of the population will be. • Indoor air pollution is estimated to cause approximately 2 million premature deaths mostly in developing countries. Almost half of these deaths are due to pneumonia in children under 5 years of age. • Urban outdoor air pollution is estimated to cause 1.3 million deaths worldwide per year. Those living in middle-income countries disproportionately experience this burden. • Exposure to air pollutants is largely beyond the control of individuals and requires action by public authorities at the national, regional and even international levels • The WHO Air quality guidelines represent the most widely agreed and up-to-date assessment of health effects of air pollution, recommending targets for air quality at which the health risks are significantly reduced. The Guidelines indicate that by reducing particulate matter (PM10) pollution from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic meter, we can cut air quality related deaths by around 15%. jama.jamanetwork/article.aspx?articleid=646207 (Journal of the American Medical Association): • In high-income countries, air pollution was associated with 2.5% of all deaths (eighth leading risk factor for mortality). • Increasing evidence suggests that the highest proportion of air pollution–related deaths, especially those related to particulate matter (PM), are not pulmonary related as might be speculated, but are due to cardiovascular causes. • The American Heart Association concluded in an updated scientific statement that the overall evidence is consistent with PM playing a causal role in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. • Although adverse cardiopulmonary outcomes have been the focus of most recent studies, air pollution–related stroke has received less attention. This relationship may represent a serious and increasing burden to populations, particularly in the developing world, and merits further attention on global research and public policy agendas.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 15:55:55 +0000
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