Air pollution ‘ages your lungs by TWO YEARS’
Air pollution ‘ages your lungs by TWO YEARS and increases risk of deadly disease’ mass study finds
- Fuelling alarming rise in cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Worse among people with low incomes due to ‘poorer housing or diet’
- Pollutants in exhaust fumes enter the lungs and bloodstream via the nose
Air pollution ages our lungs up to two years and increase our risk of a deadly lung disease, research suggests.
A study found exposure to pollutants in exhaust fumes and factory emissions is fuelling a rise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
COPD is an incurable condition that occurs when the lungs become inflamed, damaged and narrowed.
Over time, patients can develop breathlessness, suffer frequent chest infections and even cough up blood.
The study also found people on low incomes are more at risk than their wealthier counterparts even when their air pollution exposure is the same.
The UK researchers blame this on poor housing, limited access to healthcare and the lingering effects of air pollution exposure during childhood.
Air pollution ages our lungs up to two years and increase our risk of lung disease (stock)
The research was carried out by Leicester University and led by Professor Anna Hansell, of the UK Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability.
‘In one of the largest analyses to date we found outdoor air pollution exposure is directly linked to lower lung function and increased COPD prevalence,’ Professor Hansell said.
‘We found people exposed to higher levels of pollutants had lower lung function equivalent to at least a year of ageing.
‘Worryingly, we found air pollution had much larger effects on people from lower income households.’
COPD describes a number of lung conditions. These include emphysema, which affects the air sacs, and chronic bronchitis, which impacts the airways.
Around 1.2million people in the UK are diagnosed with COPD, British Lung Foundation statistics show.
This makes it the second most common lung disease after asthma.
And in the US, 16million people suffer from COPD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘There are surprisingly few studies that look at how air pollution affects lung health,’ Professor Hansell said.
‘To try and address this, we assessed more than 300,000 people using data from the UK Biobank study to examine whether air pollution exposure was linked to changes in lung function.
WHAT IS CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) describes a group of lung conditions that cause the airways to narrow and become inflamed.
Examples include bronchitis, which affects the airways, and emphysema, which impacts the air sacs.
This makes it harder to move air in and out as you breathe.
Around 1.2million people in the UK are diagnosed with COPD, British Lung Foundation statistics show.
And in the US, 16million people suffer from COPD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It usually develops due to long-term damage to the lungs from smoking or air pollution.
Jobs where people are exposed to fumes, dust and chemicals also raise the risk.
COPD also seems to run in families.
And a rare genetic condition called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency makes people susceptible at a very young age.
Symptoms include:
- Breathlessness during day-to-day activities, like walking
- Persistent cough
- Wheezing in cold weather
- Producing excess phlegm
In severe cases, sufferers lose their appetite, have swollen ankles, lose weight and may even cough up blood.
COPD is incurable and the damage to the lungs cannot be reversed.
However, treatments can help make breathing easier.
Patients should also quit smoking and maintain a healthy weight.
‘And whether it affected participants’ risk of developing COPD.’
The researchers analysed a range of pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and tiny particles called PM10s and PM2.5s, which are released from vehicle exhausts and factory emissions.
These enter the lungs and bloodstream via the nose.
The researchers used a validated model to estimate the amount of air pollution the participants were exposed to at their homes when they signed up to the study between 2006 and 2010.
The participants, who were aged 40-to-69, also answered health questionnaires and had their lung function measured via a spirometry.
This device measures how much air can be breathed out in one forced breath.
It has been suggested pollutants cut the average Briton’s life by six months, while also limiting the growth of a child’s lungs.
But the more recent study – published in the European Respiratory Journal – suggests air pollution may be far more damaging than previously feared.
Results revealed that for every annual average increase of five micrograms per cubic metre of PM2.5 in the air, the reduction in lung function is similar to two years of ageing.
PM2.5 is around 20 times smaller than a grain of sand.
For those living in areas above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual average guidelines of 10 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter, COPD prevalence was four times higher than among people exposed to passive smoking at home.
The EU air quality limit for PM2.5 is 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
‘Air pollution had approximately twice the impact on lung function decline and three times the increased COPD risk on lower-income participants compared to higher-income participants who had the same air pollution exposure,’ Professor Hansell said.
‘We accounted for participants’ smoking status and if their occupation might affect lung health.
‘And think this disparity could be related to poorer housing conditions or diet, worse access to healthcare or long-term effects of poverty affecting lung growth in childhood.
‘However, further research is needed to investigate the differences in effects between people from lower- and higher-income homes.’
Professor Tobias Welte, who is president of the European Respiratory Society, added: ‘The findings of this large study reinforce that exposure to polluted air seriously harms human health by reducing life expectancy and making people more prone to developing chronic lung disease.
‘Access to clean air is a fundamental need and right for all citizens in Europe.
‘Governments have a responsibility to protect this right by ensuring maximum pollutant levels indicated by the WHO are not breached across our cities and towns.
‘Breathing is the most basic human function required to sustain life, which is why we must continue to fight for the right to breathe clean air.’
The researchers are conducting further studies to investigate whether our genes interact with air pollution to impact our health.
Air pollution has been linked to everything from heart attacks to asthma and even dementia.
In the UK, more children suffer from respiratory conditions than anywhere else in Europe, statistics show.
The UN agency Unicef recently reported around one in three British children are living in areas with unsafe levels of pollution.
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