The goodness of good air

Air purifiers can prevent respiratory problems, say doctors

Installation of air purifiers can be an easy way to prevent respiratory problems caused by indoor air pollution, doctors say.

According to doctors, air purifiers are becoming more reliable for people in cities because pollutants released indoors were 1,000 times more likely to reach the lungs than pollutants released outdoors.

More than 5.5 million people worldwide die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution, and India and China together account for 55 per cent of these deaths, research has found.

"Air pollution has come up as one of the major health challenges of modern Indian cities. With increasing respiratory problems, it is now important to know about pollutants, and their health hazards.

"Air purifiers are emerging as a good way to stay away from major respiratory diseases caused by indoor air pollution," said Raj Kumar, head of respiratory allergy and applied immunology at Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute.

He said recent studies have revealed the strong link between major respiratory and lung diseases due to air pollution, which clearly indicated the need to cut down the sources of indoor air pollution.

With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring air quality of Indian metropolitan cities as worst in the world, healthcare professionals are registering a sharp rise in respiratory problems, especially in immuno-compromised population like children, elderly and people with health issues or malnutrition.

Himanshu Garg, head of respiratory and critical care at Artemis Hospital, said, "In India, we have a long standing tradition of burning of incense sticks and dhoop that could increase the concentration of "Health problems caused can be reduced by installing air purifiers, which bring down the percentage of pollutants in the air," said Garg.

Increase in pollution leads to rise in strokes

Rising levels of pollution have led to an increase in the number of strokes, revealed a study, reaffirming the growing evidence that climate change and overall air quality contributes to heart disease.

The results showed that particles less than 2.5 mm in diameter (PM2.5) pose the greatest health risks due to their small size (1/30th diameter of a human hair and not visible to the human eye). They are created from combustion from cars, power plants, forest fires and others.

Researchers also found that temperature had an impact on air quality and risk of stroke. High temperatures create a critical thermal stress that may increase the risk of stroke and other heat-and air quality-related illnesses and deaths.

"Patients with stroke are in danger of dehydration due to high temperatures in the summer and pneumonia, influenza and other respiratory diseases," said Longjian Liu, associate professor at the Drexel University in Philadelphia in the US.

“Women and the elderly also appear more vulnerable to stroke risk due to air quality and heat-related diseases,” he added. The study data was collected from the US and China. The team evaluated air quality data collected between 2010 and 2013 from 1,118 counties in 49 states in America and from 120 cities in 32 provinces in China.

Across the two countries, researchers found that the total number of stroke cases rose 1.19 per cent for each 10 mg per cubic metre air (g/m3), an increase of PM2.5. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the US killing nearly 129,000 people every year, and is a leading cause of disability.

Worldwide, the prevalence of stroke stood at 33 million, with 16.9 million people suffering their first stroke, and is the second-leading cause of global deaths behind heart disease. (The study was presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2016.)