A new study suggests that Beijing's air pollution may be taking up to 16 years off residents' lives.
The study – carried out by doctors and professors at the University of Queensland, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University School of Public Health, and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences and published in the BMJ – examines the "burden of air pollution on years of life lost in Beijing, China, 2004-08".
Unlike previous research, the Australian-Chinese study focused on the number of years of life lost (YLL) due to pollution, examining mortality data from eight different districts in Beijing from 2004 to 2008. The researchers used the air quality at the main campus of Peking University, located in a residential/commercial (ie not industrial) area of the city, as a point of reference for pollution levels during the period.
They compared YLL over time with "the percentage change in daily mortality associated with changes in air pollutants". Certain increases of toxic chemicals in the air were "related to YLL increases of 15.8, 15.8, 16.2, and 15.1 years, respectively. The effects of air pollutants on YLL appeared acutely and lasted for two days".
Pollutants were found to be of greater risk to women and young people than men and the over 65s.
One crucial finding was that the estimated effects of air pollution were greater on the younger group of people than older group for YLL. The potential reason is that the measurement of YLL takes into account those conditions afflicting young people or children. Giving the same weight to deaths occurring at different ages could distort policy priorities and resource allocation. Most studies report that mortality risks related to air pollution are greater for older people than younger people. Our study suggests that focusing on death counts only could underestimate the burden of air pollution on young people.
With pollutants from China effecting Japan and even the US, air quality in the world's most populous nation is becoming an international issue with huge negative ramifications.
[Via: Business Insider]
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