Air pollution and human health risks: mechanisms and clinical manifestations of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases

Abstract

Nowadays one of the main agents morbidity and mortality, in worldwide, is exposure to air pollution. Based on reported health organization, air pollution is the second most important factor in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and chronic diseases. The main source which has been found to exert harmful effects on human are particle matter (PM), Ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfide dioxide (SO₂), metals, and polyaromantic hydrocarbon (PAHs). The purpose of this review was the epidemiological literature on the health endpoint of exposure to air pollutants has on cardiovascular diseases (HACD) and respiratory diseases (HARD). About 1125 papers were retrieved according to various databases: Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, Springer, PubMed, and BMJ. Eighty papers based on abstract and article text were filtered. In the end after sieving, we selected 35 papers. The literature signs a notable undesirable effect from PM₁₀, O₃, NO₂, SO₂, metals, and PAHs emissions on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Results showed that air pollution has a significant contribution in the number of related cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and deaths. The survey requires the need to enact and enforce permissible PM₁₀, O₃, NO₂, SO₂, metals, and PAHs levels/standards for decrease in the health endpoint on human by relevant environmental authorities both at federal and state levels.

Keywords:

• Health effects
• cardiovascular diseases
• respiratory diseases
• air pollution

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Environmental Technologies Research Center of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences for funding and providing necessary facilities to perform this research.

Ethical approval

This study was originally approved by the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. According to the national guidelines, studies such as this do not require individual consent.

Consent to publish

'Not applicable' for that specific section.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. Persons who meet authorship criteria are listed as authors, and all authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, or revision of the manuscript. The name of each author must appear at least once in each of the three categories below.

Author contributions

Study concept, design, and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Habib Allah Shahriyari, Yousef Nikmanesh, Saeid Jalali, Noorollah Tahery, Akram Zhiani Fard, Naser Hatamzadeh, Kourosh Zarea, Maria Cheraghi, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi; drafting of the manuscript and advisor: Mohammad Javad Mohammadi; performing the experiments Habib Allah Shahriyari.

- Conception and design of study: Habib Allah Shahriyari, Yousef Nikmanesh, Saeid Jalali, Noorollah Tahery, Akram Zhiani Fard, Naser Hatamzadeh, Kourosh Zarea, Maria Cheraghi, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi *

- Acquisition of data: Habib Allah Shahriyari, Saeid Jalali, Noorollah Tahery, Akram Zhiani Fard

- Analysis and/or interpretation of data: Naser Hatamzadeh, Yousef Nikmanesh, Kourosh Zarea, Maria Cheraghi, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi

- Drafting the manuscript: Habib Allah Shahriyari, Saeid Jalali, Noorollah Tahery, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi

- Revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content:

Habib Allah Shahriyari, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi

Approval of the version of the manuscript to be published (the names of all authors must be listed):

Habib Allah Shahriyari, Yousef Nikmanesh, Saeid Jalali, Noorollah Tahery, Akram Zhiani Fard, Naser Hatamzadeh, Kourosh Zarea, Maria Cheraghi, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Social Determinants of health Research Center Affairs of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.