Air pollution is becoming a major problem. This has been caused by several factors including not only industrialization or carbon emissions but also the ever increasing traffic in all countries around the world. Now a study has shown how dangerous the harmful smoke from traffic is for future generations. Researchers from George Washington University in the US have claimed that traffic pollution can cause asthma in about two million children worldwide every year. The findings of this study have been published in the journal ‘The Lancet Planetary Health’. Let us inform you that air pollution can affect our body parts and function. Air pollution also causes COPD, ie chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma.
Asthma is a chronic disease involving inflammation of the lung airways. Asthma causes difficulty breathing, chest pain, coughing and wheezing. The main cause of an asthma attack is mucus in the body and a shortened windpipe, but many other external factors can cause an asthma attack to come on suddenly. Patients are advised to use inhalers in this case.
What do experts say?
According to professor of environmental health at work at George Washington University and co-author of this study Susan Anenberg, their research showed that nitrogen dioxide increases the incidence of childhood asthma, a disease that occurs mainly in urban settings.
How did the study go?
Susan Anenberg and her colleagues looked at nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in the soil near cars, power plants and industrial facilities. In addition, they tracked new childhood asthma cases from 2019 to 2020. It also found that due to NO2, childhood asthma cases were 20% in the year 2000, which equated to 16 percent in the year 2019. This indicates that clean air is available. has helped young people in different parts of Europe and America, especially those who live near busy streets and industrial sites. High-income countries should therefore continue to work towards a more effective reduction of NO2 emissions.
What can be done?
In another study, Susan Anenberg and her colleagues found that 1.8 million deaths in 2019 could be related to urban air pollution. It also found that 86% of adults and children living in cities become ill as a result of living in an environment with a higher particulate matter content than the levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to Anenberg, we can help children and the elderly to breathe healthier air by reducing the transport of fossil fuels. It can also reduce asthma and its death in children. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions are also reduced, which can lead to a healthy environment.
The results of the study
According to this study, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was the cause of new asthma cases in an estimated 18.5 lakh young people in 2019. Two-thirds of these were in urban areas. Asthma cases related to NO2 in children have decreased due to strict air quality regulations in the United States and other developed countries. Despite advances in air quality in Europe and the United States, countries in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East have poor air quality, mainly due to NO2. Childhood asthma caused by NO2 has become a major public health problem in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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