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Google PlayAir pollution is likely a leading cause of premature births around the world, according to a recent study published in the Plos Medicine journal this week.
Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco and the University of Washington analyzed different peer-reviewed articles to calculate the effects of both indoor and outdoor pollution on pregnancies. The study found pollution was most likely contributed to the nearly 6 million premature mature births and 3 million underweight babies in 2019. According to CBS News, the study is the first of its kind to include indoor air pollution into its total calculations; these types of contaminants, which are primarily caused by kitchen stoves, accounted for two-thirds of the documented pollution burden on pregnancies.
“At an individual level, indoor air pollution exposure appears to carry a much higher burden compared to outdoor levels,” lead researcher Rakesh Ghosh, an epidemiologist at UC-San Francisco, said. “So, minimising household pollution exposure, to the extent possible, should be part of the message during prenatal care, especially where household pollution is prevalent.”
Researchers found that pollution-linked premature births were more common in poorer countries, such as parts of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It stated that these types of births could have been reduced by 78 percent if small particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution were minimized. However, the study notes that more affluent countries are also at risk, as air pollution was connected to nearly 12,000 premature births in the United States in 2019.
The World Health Organization estimates about 92 percent of the global population lives in regions where the air quality is below its recommended limits for PM2.5. WHO also reports that about 50 percent of the population is exposed to indoor pollution.
“The new WHO model shows countries where the air pollution danger spots are, and provides a baseline for monitoring progress in combatting it,” says
“Air pollution continues take a toll on the health of the most vulnerable populations – women, children and the older adults,” WHO’s assistant director Dr Flavia Bustreo said in a 2016 press release. “For people to be healthy, they must breathe clean air from their first breath to their last.”
