Car-polluted city air blamed for millions of emergency hospital admissions for asthma

AIR pollution is behind one in three cases of asthma hospitalisation, a study has estimated.

Researchers from The George Washington University in Washington DC found that up to 33 million visits to emergency departments for asthma could have been caused by pollutants entering the lungs. It is the first study to estimate the impact of air pollution on asthma cases across the globe.

Susan Anenberg, the lead author and associate professor at the university’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, said policies to clean up the air could reduce the burden of asthma and improve respiratory health.

In particular, Dr Anenberg said targeting emissions from cars in big cities would not only aid people with asthma and other respiratory diseases but would help everyone breathe easier.

She added: “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, affect- ing about 358million people.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests car emissions and other types of pollution may be a significant source.

Dr Anenberg and her team first looked at emergency department visits for asthma in 54 countries and Hong Kong, and then combined that information with global pollution levels. They said that nine to 23 million annual asthma A&E visits – 8 per cent to 20 per cent of the global total – may have been triggered by ozone, a pollutant generated when car, power plant and other emissions interact with sunlight.

Researchers also estimated that 5-10million asthma emergency department attendances – 4-9per cent of the global total – were linked to fine particulate matter, small particles of pollution that can lodge deep in the lungs’ airways. They said that around half the visits attributed to dirty air were estimated to occur in south and east Asian countries – notably India and China.