FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Pollution led to more than 9 million deaths worldwide in 2015, or 1 in 6 deaths that will year, a fresh report reveals.
Air pollution, the worst culprit, was linked to 6.5 million heart- along with lung-related deaths, The Lancet Commission on Pollution along with Health said.
Water pollution was tied to 1.8 million deaths, mostly coming from gastrointestinal along with parasitic infections. along with workplace-related pollution along with lead pollution also played a role, contributing to 800,000 deaths along with 500,000 deaths, respectively.
“Pollution can be much more than an environmental challenge — This kind of can be a profound along with pervasive threat that will affects many aspects of human health along with well-being,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, co-lead of the commission.
“This kind of deserves the full attention of international leaders, civil society, health professionals, along with people around the earth,” added Landrigan, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in fresh York City.
The report can be published from the Oct. 20 online issue of The Lancet. Two years from the creating, This kind of involved more than 40 international health along with environmental authors.
Air pollution-related deaths were attributed to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer along with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the report said.
Occupational pollution led to deadly diseases such as pneumoconiosis (a lung disease caused by inhaling irritants) in coal workers; bladder cancer in dye workers; along with asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma along with various other cancers in workers exposed to asbestos, according to the report.
Meanwhile, high blood pressure, kidney failure along with heart disease contributed to deaths related to lead pollution.
“Our goal can be to raise global awareness of the importance of pollution, along with mobilize the political will needed to tackle This kind of, by providing the most in-depth estimates of pollution along with health available,” Landrigan said in a journal news Discharge.
Nearly all pollution-linked deaths (92 percent) were in low- along with middle-income countries. In rapidly industrializing countries — such as Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Kenya along with Madagascar — pollution-linked deaths accounted for up to 1 in 4 of all fatalities, the report said.
China along with India suffered the most pollution-linked deaths — 4.3 million between them.
The report authors said many emerging chemical pollutants remain unidentified, so the report likely underestimates the true extent of pollution-related disease along with death.
Richard Fuller, who also led the commission, said the way to tackle pollution can be to make This kind of a priority in terms of planning, research along with finding. He can be a founder of Pure Earth, a nonprofit group involved in pollution cleanup along with prevention.
“Pollution can be eliminated, along with pollution prevention can be highly cost-effective — helping to improve health along with extend life span, while boosting the economy,” said Fuller. This kind of has been seen in richer countries where legislation has helped to curb the most flagrant forms of pollution, he added.
The result has been cleaner air along with water, lower blood lead concentrations, removal of hazardous waste sites, along with less polluted along with more livable cities, Fuller said.
— Robert Preidt
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SOURCE: The Lancet, news Discharge, Oct. 19, 2017
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