Pollution can cause heart attack, reproductive disorder: Doctors

New Delhi : With pollution rising to severe levels in the national capital, doctors have warned of a number of ill-effects on the health of the people, ranging from heart attack to adverse impact on reproductive capabilities of men.

Doctors warned the people of Delhi against going outside without wearing anti-pollution masks and asked them to use air-purifiers even inside their houses to tackle the impact of pollution on human health.

"It is a serious concern that a Public Health Emergency (PHE) has been declared. Under PHE, people are supposed to stay indoor. Even inside their homes, people should use masks or air-purifiers.

The high level of pollution may result in heart attack, paralysis or even sudden deaths which we have seen last year," said K.K. Agarwal, President, Confederation of Medical Associations of Asia and Oceania.

"So my advice would be that stay indoor, use air purifiers and masks to further provide protection against pollution," said Agarwal, a former head of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Apart from the deadly effects of pollution, the doctors also warned people against the dangerous impact of pollution on the reproductive abilities of the human body as they claim that PM10 particles could affect the quality of sperm among the males.

"PM10 particles have a tendency to increase the concentration of free radicals in the bloodstream which in turn affects the quality of sperm among males. Also, the presence of heavy metals like cadmium, mercury and lead has severe consequences on the life of sperm and the effect can be seen for over 90 days.

"Important factors like sperm motility and concentration are duly affected, which determines a pregnancy," Arvind Vaid, Gynaecologist and IVF expert at Indira IVF Hospital, told IANS.

The Indian Medical Association said the number of patients suffering from pollution related ailments is increasing every day. "With increasing pollution in and around Delhi, public health has taken a toll. With high levels of pollutants and the rise in levels of particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10) in the last week, more and more number of patients are turning up with various health ailments," IMA spokesperson Narender Saini said.

Considering the steep rise in the pollution levels, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on Friday asked the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to issue advisories asking the public to minimise exposure to the surroundings and take other measures to curb the challenging levels of pollution. Delhi has announced closure of all schools till November 5 and other NCR cities may also follow suit.