Nine to 33 million visits to the emergency room for asthma worldwide may be triggered by breathing in air polluted by ozone or fine particulate matter—pollutants that can enter the lung’s deep airways, according to a recent study led by a Milken Institute School of Public Health researcher.
Scientists have long known that breathing in air sullied by car emissions and other pollutants could trigger asthma attacks. However, the new study is the first to quantify air pollution’s impact on asthma cases around the globe.
“Millions of people worldwide have to go to emergency rooms for asthma attacks every year because they are breathing dirty air,” said Susan Anenberg, lead author of the study and an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at Milken Institute SPH. “Our findings suggest that policies aimed at cleaning up the air can reduce the global burden of asthma and improve respiratory health around the world.”
Asthma is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide, affecting about 358 million people. The new findings, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests car emissions and other types of pollution may be a significant source of serious asthma attacks.
Dr. Anenberg and her team first looked at emergency room visits for asthma in 54 countries and Hong Kong and then combined that information with epidemiological exposure-response relationships and global pollution levels derived from satellites orbiting the earth.