Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Airborne Killer: Pollution Tops War and Disease in Global Mortality

A new study published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology reveals that the greatest threat to humanity isn't war or terminal diseases, rather it is the pollution. The study says that even if the world is dying from a lot of diseases like malaria, HIV, TB and some other factors like alcohol, drugs and terrorism, nothing is as deadly as pollution. Due to pollution and climate change, about seven million deaths are reported each year all over the world.

Professor Jason Kovacic, Director and CEO of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute says that many of the cardiovascular illnesses and deaths are due to pollution. Pollution can be caused by a lot of factors with exhausts cars and factories being the common one. There are also some other types of pollution like noise pollution, soil pollution and light pollution can contribute to cardiovascular diseases. Even the toxic chemicals from our homes can lead us to many diseases. Wildfires and increasing temperatures of the earth are more threatening to our heart health than smoking.

The air on earth is full of toxic smoke and when we inhale it, it reaches our bloodstream and circulates through our body via the heart. Light pollution also messes up with your body like disrupting your sleep patterns. These disrupted sleep patterns can cause weight gain and high blood pressure which are some causes of heart problems.
Similarly high temperatures and heat make your heart work overtime and as a result, it stops functioning altogether. It also causes dehydration which also leads to kidney failure. Many houses also use water resistant clothes and non-stick pans which aren't exactly safe to use. These household items aren't tested for safety and are highly likely to be toxic. Only air pollution is the cause of seven million deaths per year and when it's a heatwave, the risk of premature death increases by 10%.

There are some solutions that can decrease pollution, which can ultimately help with cardiovascular diseases. More trees should be planted in cities and there should be a decrease in cars. We should also stop fossil fuel industries by giving them renewable energy sources which can help in cleaning the air. Government authorities should run campaigns about pollution and there should be complete medical training.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

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