Blame Air Pollution For Over 6 Million Premature Births Globally, Says Study

Air pollution is the root cause of several health ailments and now researchers state that it is also responsible for causing premature births worldwide.

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Also Read: The Invisible Problem Of Indoor Air Pollution, And Why We Need To Take It Seriously

Reported first by the Guardian, this is according to the analysis of multiple scientific studies, which is the first to calculate the total global impact of outdoor and indoor air pollution, together.

Indoor pollution that¡¯s caused by the burning of coal, wood amounts to almost two-thirds of the total pollution burden on pregnancies in 2019. This was seen to be more prevalent in developing areas such as south-east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Rakesh Ghosh, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco and lead researcher on the paper, at an individual level, indoor air pollution exposure can do more harm than outdoor pollution.

For the study, researchers looked at 108 research papers on indoor and outdoor pollution in correlation with four major pregnancy risks -- gestation age at birth, reduction in birth weight, premature birth and low birth weight for a total of 204 nations.

Also Read: This Plant-Based Air Purifier Made By Indian Scientists Lowers Pollution In 15 Minutes

After fine-tuning risk factors like pregnancy weight, smoking, nutrition and alcohol use, researchers found that air pollution resulted in lower birth weight and premature birth. Premature births contribute to over 15 million newborn deaths across the world each year.

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Also Read: Working From Home Four Days A Week Reduces Pollution By 10 Percent, Says Study

Ghosh highlights that by reducing air pollution in the aforementioned developing nations, cases of premature births and low birth weight could be slashed by 78 percent.

He added, "The air pollution-attributable burden is enormous, yet with sufficient effort, it could be largely mitigated. "With this new, global and more rigorously generated evidence, air pollution should now be considered a major driver of infant morbidity and mortality, not just of chronic adult diseases.¡±

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