Europe: How much asthma does fine dust cause?

No chronic illness is as common among children as asthma. In addition to genetic factors, environmental factors - and primarily air pollution - are responsible for the development of the disease. There is a broad consensus in science, backed up by studies, that pollution from fine dust, nitrogen oxides and other substances increases the risk of developing asthma. Researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute at College Station attribute approximately a third of all childhood asthma cases in Europe to exposure to the air they breathe.
Air pollution leads to more asthma cases
For their analysis, the scientists around Haneen Khreis evaluated the data of over 63.4 million children from a total of 18 European countries. Germany was among these countries. The team analyzed the number of asthma patients and the children's exposure to PM2.5 particulate matter, nitrogen oxide NO2 and carbon particles.
The result was not surprising: there was a clear correlation between the level of air pollution and the occurrence of asthma. According to the researchers' calculations, 33 percent of all asthma cases in Europe are due to particulate matter. After all, NO2 could be involved in 23 percent of the cases. The researchers attributed 15 percent to soot and other carbon particles.

From the analysis, one can no doubt conclude that many asthma cases could be avoided by better air quality. The team created two models to investigate what concrete effects would be expected. At one point, they simulated consistent compliance with the World Health Organization's recommended limits, and in another model, they examined what would happen if air pollution fell to the lowest level ever documented.

Improving air quality would have a concrete impact
The researchers' results are clear: "Compliance with the WHO recommendations for PM2.5 particulate matter would mean a significant reduction in annual new asthma cases," said co-author David Rojas-Rueda from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. In this way, 66,000 cases of childhood asthma could be avoided each year - this corresponds to around 11 percent. Based on NO2, the researchers came up with 2,400 preventable diseases, which corresponds to about 0.4 percent of all asthma cases. The researchers conclude that the WHO's NO2 limit values ​​would have to be adjusted to ensure effective protection of the population.

In the second scenario, the results were, as expected, much more clear: If air pollution corresponded to the lowest level ever documented, 190,000 cases of asthma with regard to fine dust, 135,000 with regard to NO2 and still 89,000 with regard to soot could be avoided each year become.

"Many different research groups have repeatedly found evidence in recent years that air pollution in childhood asthma makes a significant contribution to the health burden. These influences are largely avoidable and there are many measures that can reduce the level of air pollution and the burden on children. We can and should do something about it, ”said Khreis.