Air pollution is a major problem affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environment. It is caused by both human interventions and/or natural phenomena. It is made up of many kinds of pollutants including materials in solid, liquid and gas phases. It has several different emission sources varying from small unit of cigarettes and natural sources such as volcanic activities, forest fire, sea water but, emissions from motor vehicles and industrial processes contribute the major part of air pollution.
Long and short-term exposure to air suspended toxicants has a different toxicological impact on human including respiratory infections and inflammations, cardiovascular dysfunctions, neuropsychiatric complications, the eyes irritation, skin disease and long-term chronic diseases such as cancer; hence, air pollution is linked with millions of deaths globally each year.
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2012, some 72% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischemic heart disease and strokes, while 14% of deaths were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute lower respiratory infections, and 14% of deaths were due to lung cancer. These estimates reflect the very significant role air pollution plays in cardiovascular illness and premature deaths – much more so than was previously understood by scientists.
Some deaths may be attributed to more than one risk factor at the same time. Some lung cancer deaths could have been averted by improving ambient air quality, or by reducing tobacco smoking. A 2013 assessment by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that outdoor air pollution is carcinogenic to humans, with the particulate matter component of air pollution most closely associated with increased cancer incidence, especially cancer of the lung. An association also has been observed between outdoor air pollution and increase in cancer of the urinary tract/bladder.....READ MORE
According to the World Health Organization, existing healthcare systems are not designed to respond to ageing and older people. There must be a fundamental shift in the w...
Air pollution is a major problem affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike, which has a serious toxicological impact on human health and the environm...
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners have released the first progress report for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing. The report highlights efforts to improve...
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