Dangerous to life in the long term: Smog like here in Amritsar, India, is a serious threat to health.
Image: AFP
Air pollution endangers health. A study involving researchers from Mainz shows how much. The heart and circulation suffer the most.
WIf fossil fuels were no longer used, around five million deaths could be avoided worldwide every year. One comes to this conclusion international study in which researchers from Mainz University Medicine and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry were involved.
The scientists used data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study, satellite-based particulate matter and population data, and risk modeling that depicts the relationship between exposure to pollutants and health effects. This means that the disease-specific death rate and the overall mortality, which can be attributed to long-term exposure to particulate matter and ozone, were assigned to the emission sources.
Most deaths attributable to air pollution, 52 percent, are due to cardiovascular disease. Strokes and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases each account for 16 percent, and diabetes for six percent. 20 percent of the deaths could not be assigned with certainty, but some were probably related to high blood pressure and neurodegenerative diseases. According to the researchers, the connection between exposure to pollutants and health consequences is approximately linear. Therefore, any reduction in emissions could significantly reduce the number of deaths.
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