Air pollution link to deaths in UK cities
● Heart attacks and strokes ‘rise in cities on days when air is not clean’
Hundreds of heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks are being triggered by spikes in air pollution in UK cities, new research has suggested,
A study by King’s College London found significant short-term health risks caused by air pollution, as well as it contributing to up to 36,000 deaths every year.
The study comes ahead of the International Clean Air Summit.
Spikes in air pollution trigger hundreds of heart attacks, strokes and acute asthma attacks in UK cities compared with days when the air is cleaner, research suggests.
A study by King’s College London found there are significant short-term health risks caused by air pollution, as well as contributing to up to 36,000 deaths every year.
The study looked at data from nine cities – London, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Southampton. It found on high pollution days, when pollutant levels were in the top half of the annual range, there were an extra 124 cardiac arrests.
The figure discounts cardiac arrests suffered by patients already in hospital and is based on ambulance call data.
The research also found there was an average of 231 additional hospital admissions for stroke, with an extra 193 children and adults hospitalised for asthma.
Dr Heather Walton, health expert on the project at Environmental Research Group, King’s College London, said: “The impact of air pollution on our health has been crucial in justifying air pollution reduction policies for some time, and mostly concentrates on effects connected to life expectancy.
“However, health studies show clear links with a much wider range of health effects.”
The figures were published before the International Clean Air Summit on Wednesday hosted by Mayor of London Sadiqkh an and theuk 100 this week. The UK100 is a network of local government leaders, who have pledged to help their communities shift to 100 per cent clean energy by 2050.
Polly Billington, its director, said: “Local government needs additional powers and resources to address this public health crisis, alongside a timetable for when air pollution levels will meet World Health Organisation guidelines.”
Although the research did not look at Scottish cities, Edinburgh has some of the most polluted streets in the country, in particular Queensferry Road, Nicolson Street and St John’s Road.
The risk was found to be greatest in London, where high pollution days cause an extra 87 cardiac arrests on average, an extra 144 strokes as well as 74 children and 33 adults hospitalised for asthma.
Birmingham had the second highest risk, with 12 more out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, 27 more admissions for stroke and 15 extra children and 11 adults hospitalised for asthma.
Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Southampton had between two and six additional out-of-hospital heart attacks on high pollution days.
These cities saw an increase of between two and 14 extra hospitalisations for stroke, and up to 14 extra admissions for asthma.