Health Impacts of Air Pollution

This literature review analyzes the health impacts of air pollution, focusing on respiratory diseases and early deaths. It discusses the causes, consequences, and potential preventive measures. Case studies and controversial research findings are also examined.

Health impacts of Air Pollution
Introduction
Air pollution is a global issue which affects the worldwide population significantly. Outdoor
air pollution is the main causative factor for various respiratory diseases (Chung 2011).
Common respiratory diseases are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, lung
cancer, and lower respiratory tract infection. Recent researches show that approximately 4.2
million early deaths are directly and indirectly connected with outdoor air pollution. This
literature review aids in analyzing the recent researches on the health impacts of air pollution,
gaps in the research and knowledge, and study of case studies and controversial results.
Detailed discussion on the chosen topic helps in promoting the of and analysis of air
pollution.
Air pollution is the deadliest contamination than the other. Air pollution affects the entire age
group. The World Health Organisation states that deaths caused by other pollution are lesser
than the deaths caused by outdoor air pollution. Polluted air contains a mixture of dust and
gases which can be classified based on the pollutants (North 2019).Particulate matter is
composed of tiny dust particles and droplets which are emitted from the industries and
automobiles. Black carbon is one of the pollutants, burning of wood, diesel, and coal. Black
carbon causes severe respiratory diseases like asthma, a chronic obstructive pulmonary
disorder, bronchitis, and cancer (Fajersztajn 2013). Prolonged exposure may lead to a heart
attack. Nitrogen oxides are released from the automobiles, the elevated concentration of
nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere can cause bronchitis and asthma (Guarnieri 2014).
Prolonged exposure may lead to severe heart disease. Ozone which is commonly referred to
as smog reacts with other pollutants and causes serious respiratory illness (Foster 2011). Even
short term exposure can cause symptoms like cough, throat pain, and irritation. Long term

exposure can cause alter the lung function and worsen respiratory diseases. Awareness about
the common air pollutants and the related diseases helps to implement the preventive
measures (Wang 2017).
Recent research studies on air pollution provide enormous reliable information. One of the
major causes of air pollution is the dense population (Mannucci 2015). Globally, India and
China are the two countries accommodate more population. These are the two countries
significantly affected by the deadliest pollution. Guttikunda (2014) review on air pollution
and related respiratory diseases shows that India is drastically affected by air pollution. He
has done a detailed study on the cause of air pollution and the health impacts of the air
pollutants. He provides suggestions to the Indian government to check the air quality in major
cities and to regularise the usages of automobiles accordingly. Chen (2013) review on
China’s Huia River policy and related air pollution in china reveals the drastic changes in the
health condition of the people live in the north of the Huia River. During winter free coal was
provided to the people lives in the north of Huia River but it was not provided to the people
in the south. The concentration of air pollutants was high in the north of Huia River than the
south. His study continued to examine the consequences of air pollution in the north of Huia
River. It reveals that the air pollutants concentration was high and the reported respiratory
diseases were also increased (Portney 2010).
Globally, various research studies have been done on air pollution. The are concentrating on
the general consequences of air pollution. Finding an appropriate solution with the help of the
research studies has not been attained. There is a gap in research and knowledge which has to
be identified to save the universe from the toxic pollution. Primarily, the research studies are
done to find the incidence report of the disease and deaths caused by air pollution (West
2016). Some studies analyze the vulnerable group and the common respiratory diseases

caused by Air pollution. Only a few studies, work towards finding the preventive measures
which cover the large scale of population. Pope’s (2015) study on the health benefits of air
pollution abandonment policy and the cost of air pollution abandonment shows that there is a
gap in the research knowledge. The study shows that the pollution controls at a low level can
provide protection in the margin level only. To attain the optimum benefit of air pollution
abandonment policy the pollution control has to be executed in the higher levels which is
impossible in countries like India and China (Guttikunda 2014).
Various case studies and reviews are done to evaluate the consequences of air pollution. Few
studies show that the research findings are limited and controversial. Dadvand has done a
(2011) study on the connection between air pollution and congenital anomalies. Many types
of research present that air pollution affects the offspring and causes congenital anomalies in
them. The link projected by the research scholars is, carbon monoxide and congenital heart
disease. They strongly believe that carbon mono oxide and nitric oxide increases the risk of
congenital heart disease (Patankar, 2011). But the studies supporting the link between
pollution and disease are limited. The study relates the air pollution and diseases are
controversial and unreliable. Chen (2013), review on China’s Huia River policy is the study
done on the specific event and specific population. But the study proves that using coal as a
fuel source can drastically affect the air concentration in the environment. Post usage of coal
the pollutants in the air was more compared to the south of Huia River. This is a specific
event-related study that proves that outdoor air pollution significantly affects the respiratory
function of the people in the specific region (Gurjar 2010).
Conclusion
Air pollution is found to be a killer environmental cause for deadly respiratory diseases. It is
a global health issue which has to be considered as a high priority. Health impacts of Air

Pollution kill a huge population than any other pollution. The study on the causative factors
shows that the automobiles and industries play a vital part in polluting the environment. The
research studies related to air pollution projects the consequences of air pollution instead of
finding a solution for the global issue. Few research findings are limited and controversial.
Government has to create policies to control air pollution and new research studies have to be
initiated to find the solution and potential preventive measures to control air pollution.
References
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