Effects of air pollution on the human respiratory system

Exposure to air pollution is associated with numerous effects on human health. These effects include, but not limited to, respiratory, cardiac, and neurological impairments. The health effects vary greatly from person to person; nevertheless, high risk groups such as the elderly, infants, pregnant women, and sufferers from chronic and lung diseases are more susceptible to air pollution. The air pollution episode in London in the winter of 1952, where medical reports estimated that 4,000 had died prematurely and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract, initiated a long history of research studying the link between air pollution and negative health impacts on people. The findings of the recent scientific studies illustrating the effects of gaseous and particulate air pollutants on the human respiratory system are summarized and discussed in this chapter. The conclusion reached illustrated clearly that elevated levels of air pollutants (both gaseous and particulate) are associated with declines in lung function or with increase in respiratory disease symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, and asthma attacks.