Air Pollution

In celebration of Earth Day, HHS, in partnership with the White House, has announced a pledge initiative calling for reduced emissions across the health care sector.

Patients who face long-term exposure to air pollution demonstrate a higher risk for developing autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases.

Children with asthma and obesity breathe at higher tidal volumes, which may increase the efficiency of particulate matter deposition in the lung, researchers reported in the European Respiratory Journal.

WHO updated its air quality database to include ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, as well as measurements of particulate matter with diameters equal to or smaller than 10 m or 2.5 m.

High long-term exposure to particulate matter was associated with increased risk for mortality and ICU admission among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, researchers reported.

Maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy increased neonates’ odds of low birth weight and being born small for gestational age, according to data in Environmental Research.

The effects of climate change may be responsible for recent increases in asthma and allergy disorder prevalence, spectrum and severity, according to an editorial published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Former smokers with COPD may be more susceptible to inflammatory responses to short-term exposure to moderate concentrations of diesel exhaust than former smokers without COPD or healthy never smokers, researchers reported.

The deleterious effects of pollution on human CV health have garnered attention from both governmental agencies and nongovernmental researchers interested in understanding their pathophysiology and epidemiologic implications.

Greater improvement in air quality was associated with slower cognitive decline in older, community-dwelling women, according to a longitudinal study in PLoS Medicine.