Air Pollution's Deadly Impact: Mortality Rates Revealed

Air pollution is a major global health risk factor, causing significant excess mortality and loss of life expectancy, especially through cardiovascular diseases. It is the fourth greatest overall risk factor for human health, following high blood pressure, dietary risks, and smoking. It has been associated with three of the leading causes of death in the world with significant shares of air pollution-related mortality: stroke, ischemic heart disease, and primary cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 7 million deaths per year are attributable to air pollution. However, more recent studies tend to find a higher death toll than earlier studies, suggesting that the health impacts of exposure to pollution are larger than previously thought.

The pollutant that is responsible for most air pollution deaths is particulate matter. Particulate matter is everything in the air that is not a gas. These are very small particles made up of sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, black carbon, mineral dust and water that are suspended in the air that we breathe.

The Lancet Commission on pollution and health states that air pollution is one of the main global health risks, causing significant excess mortality and loss of life expectancy, especially through cardiovascular diseases. It causes a loss of life expectancy that rivals that of tobacco smoking.

Air pollution is the fourth greatest overall risk factor for human health

Air pollution is a major global health risk, causing significant excess mortality and years of life lost. It is one of the main environmental risks to human health and is perceived among Europeans as the second biggest environmental concern. It has been associated with three of the leading causes of death in the world, with significant shares of air pollution-related mortality: stroke, ischemic heart disease, and primary cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung. Altogether, air pollution was linked to seven million deaths globally and in excess of 100 million disability-adjusted life years annually. It also represents a major global annual economic impact of $5 trillion.

Air pollution is the most important environmental risk to human health. It is also perceived among Europeans as the second biggest environmental concern. A growing interest in the topic of air pollution has led to public and political actions ultimately successfully reducing air pollution levels.

Despite declining levels in Europe, air pollution still represents a major health and economic burden. There were in total 368,006 estimated deaths in Europe in 2019 attributable to air pollution, a 42.4% decrease compared to 1990. The majority (90.4%) of all deaths were associated with ambient particulate matter. Ischemic heart disease was the primary cause of death, making up 44.6% of all deaths attributable to air pollution. The age-standardised DALY rate and years of life lost rate attributable to air pollution were more than 60% lower in 2019 compared to 1990. There was a strong positive correlation between years of life lost rate and ambient particulate matter pollution in 2019 in Europe.

Using a novel calculation, the ambient particulate matter ratio change and DALY rate ratio change were used to assess each country's ability to decrease its ambient particulate matter pollution and DALYs to at least the extent of the European median decrease within the analysed period.

Overall, air pollution levels, air pollution-related morbidity and mortality have decreased considerably in Europe in the last three decades. However, with the growing European population, air pollution remains an important public health and economic issue. Policies targeting air pollution reduction should continue to be strongly enforced to further reduce one of the greatest risk factors for human health.

Air pollution has been associated with three of the leading causes of death worldwide

Ischemic heart disease was the primary cause of death, accounting for 44.6% of all deaths attributable to air pollution. Stroke and tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer had smaller contributions to the total death number, at 25.2% and 10.7%, respectively.

Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer were responsible for 19% of air pollution-related deaths worldwide.

Air pollution is a major global annual economic issue

Air pollution is a major global economic issue, causing an estimated 3 million premature deaths worldwide each year, with low and middle-income countries accounting for most of this disease burden. It is the fourth greatest overall risk factor for human health, following high blood pressure, dietary risks, and smoking. The economic impact of air pollution is estimated at $5 trillion globally.

Air pollution is a particular issue in Europe, where more than 0.5 million deaths were attributable to it in 2013, and health-related external costs associated with it reached close to €1 trillion annually in the European Union alone. In 2018, 73.6% of the EU urban population was exposed to excessive concentrations of PM2.5, which is considered the fifth leading mortality risk factor.

Air pollution is also a significant issue in the United States, where exposure to it remains the greatest environmental health risk factor, associated with 100,000-200,000 deaths annually.

The effects of air pollution are not limited to mortality, but also include morbidity, with more than 100 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributed to it annually.

Air pollution is caused primarily by anthropogenic sources, such as the production of electricity, burning of solid fuels, agriculture, industry, and road transport.

Policies targeting air pollution reduction should continue to be strongly enforced to reduce one of the greatest risk factors for human health.

Air pollution is an important public health issue in Europe

Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe and a major cause of premature death and disease. It is a major public health and economic issue. It is associated with three of the leading causes of death in the world: stroke, ischemic heart disease, and primary cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung.

In 2019, there were 368,006 deaths in Europe attributable to air pollution, a reduction of 42.4% compared to 1990. The majority (90.4%) of all deaths were associated with ambient particulate matter (PM2.5). Ischemic heart disease was the primary cause of death, making up 44.6% of all deaths attributable to air pollution.

In 2020, there were 238,000 premature deaths attributable to exposure to PM2.5 in the 27 EU Member States. In the same year, 49,000 premature deaths were attributable to exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and 24,000 to acute exposure to ozone (O3).

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides evidence of links between exposure to air pollution and type 2 diabetes, obesity, systemic inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified air pollution, particularly PM2.5, as a leading cause of cancer.

Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of air pollution. Their bodies, organs, and immune systems are still developing, and they have little power to influence air quality policies.

In 2021, the WHO published new air quality guidelines following a systematic review of the latest scientific evidence. The European Commission has committed to further improving air quality and to aligning EU air quality standards more closely with the WHO recommendations.

Despite improvements in air quality, nearly 3/4 of Europeans still live in areas where PM2.5 concentration does not meet WHO guidelines. With the growing European population, air pollution remains an important public health and economic issue.

Air pollution is a major pan-European public health issue

Air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe and a major cause of premature death and disease. It is currently the most important environmental health risk factor in Europe, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that lead to the loss of healthy years of life and, in the worst cases, to preventable deaths.

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) published new air quality guidelines following a systematic review of the latest scientific evidence demonstrating how air pollution damages human health. The European Union (EU) has also set standards for key air pollutants in the ambient air quality directives. In the European Green Deal, the European Commission committed to further improving air quality and to aligning EU air quality standards more closely with the WHO recommendations. This commitment was echoed in the zero pollution action plan, which set a vision for 2050 to reduce air, water and soil pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems.

In 2021, 253,000 deaths were attributable to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations above WHO’s guideline level of 5 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air). In addition, 52,0000 deaths were attributable to exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations above WHO’s guideline level of 10 µg/m3. Furthermore, reducing the short-term exposure to ozone (O3) would have avoided 22,000 attributable deaths.

The majority (90.4%) of all deaths were associated with PM2.5 pollution. Ischemic heart disease was the primary cause of death, making up 44.6% of all deaths attributable to air pollution. In 2019, Finland had both the lowest YLL rate (60.9) and PM2.5 concentration (5.6 μg/m3), while North Macedonia had the highest YLL rate (2214.9) and PM2.5 concentration (30.3 μg/m3). Furthermore, a strong positive correlation was observed between PM2.5 concentration and YLL rate (r = 0.911, p < 0.0001).

Overall, air pollution levels, air pollution-related morbidity and mortality have decreased considerably in Europe in the last three decades. However, with the growing European population, air pollution remains an important public health and economic issue. Policies targeting air pollution reduction should continue to be strongly enforced to further reduce one of the greatest risk factors for human health.

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