Short and Long Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Impact on Health in India: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Health effects attributable to short-term and long-term ambient air pollution (AAP) exposure in Indian population are less understood. This study evaluates the effect of short time and long-term exposure to AAP on respiratory morbidity, mortality and premature mortality for the exposed population. A total of 59 studies are reviewed to examine the effects of short-term exposure (n = 23); long-term exposure (n = 18) and premature mortality (n = 18). Short-term exposures to ambient pollutants have strong associations between COPD, respiratory illnesses and higher rates of hospital admission or visit. The long-term effects of AAP, associated with deficit lung function, asthma, heart attack, cardiovascular mortality and premature mortality have received much attention. Particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) is primarily responsible for respiratory health problems. Out of 18 literature reviewed on premature mortality, most (12 of 18) studies have statistically significant associations between AAP exposure and increased premature mortality risk.

KEYWORDS:

• Ambient air pollution (AAP)
• particulate matter (PM)
• respiratory health
• mortality

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express gratitude for the fruitful comments and suggestions given by the reviewers. We are thankful to Mr. Prakash Kumar and Ms. Debashree Sinha for providing technical help. The authors are grateful to the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai and many other academic institutes (TISS and IIT Mumbai, JNU and DU, Delhi) for providing access to published research papers.

Conflicts of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest in the study.

Disclosure statement

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Funding

The authors declare that they have not received any fund for the present paper. The paper is the sole work of the authors and is not a part/product of any project.