Also discussed here: An Integrated Risk Function for Estimating the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposure (7 pages, Richard T. Burnett, C. Arden Pope III, Majid Ezzati, Casey Olives, Stephen S. Lim, Sumi Mehta, Hwashin H. Shin, Gitanjali Singh, Bryan Hubbell, Michael Brauer, H. Ross Anderson, Kirk R. Smith, John R. Balmes, Nigel G. Bruce, Haidong Kan, Francine Laden, Annette Prüss-Ustün, Michelle C.Turner, Susan M. Gapstur, W. Ryan Diver, and Aaron Cohen, Environmental Health Perspectives, Feb 7, 2014)
And here: 7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution (Press Release, World Health Organization, Mar. 25, 2014)
And here: Air pollution 'kills 7 million people a year' (The Guardian, Mar. 25, 2014)
Today we review the annual report from the World Health Organization on the global impact of indoor and outdoor air pollution which is estimated as 4.3 and 3.7 million deaths, respectively, each year. While outdoor air pollution has been somewhat more controlled and reduced in recent years, indoor air pollution continues to increase the number of deaths especially among women in developing countries because of their greater exposure to emissions from cooking on wood stoves. More than 60% of deaths from indoor air pollution are attributed to strokes and Ischaemic heart disease with most of the remaining deaths (34%) from COPD and acute lower respiratory disease. The smallest cause (6%), unlike tobacco smoking is lung cancer. By contrast, 80% of deaths from outdoor air pollution were Ischaemic heart disease and from strokes.
Key Quotes:
“Air pollution kills about 7 million people worldwide every year, with more than half of the fatalities due to fumes from indoor stoves”
“WHO estimated that there were about 4.3 million deaths in 2012 caused by indoor air pollution, mostly people cooking inside using wood and coal stoves in Asia. WHO said there were about 3.7 million deaths from outdoor air pollution in 2012”
“Regionally, low- and middle-income countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions had the largest air pollution-related burden in 2012, with a total of 3.3 million deaths linked to indoor air pollution and 2.6 million deaths related to outdoor air pollution.”
"Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood stoves,"
“Outdoor air pollution-caused deaths – breakdown by disease:
- 40% – ischaemic heart disease;
- 40% – stroke;
- 11% – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
- 6% - lung cancer; and
- 3% – acute lower respiratory infections in children.”
“Indoor air pollution-caused deaths – breakdown by disease:
- 34% - stroke;
- 26% - ischaemic heart disease;
- 22% - COPD;
- 12% - acute lower respiratory infections in children; and
- 6% - lung cancer.”
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