Report identifies second most important risk factor for premature death

A report prepared by the Institute for Health Impacts and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates that pollution ranks second as a risk factor for premature death.

According to the report, which includes data on air quality and its impact on human health around the world, air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths in 2021 (about 12 percent of total deaths). Furthermore, more than 700,000 deaths occurred among children under the age of five (15 percent of all deaths among this age group), of which more than 500,000 were linked to air pollution in residential buildings.

The report indicates that poor air quality ranks second on the list of risk factors for premature death, after high blood pressure and before smoking, which ranks third, followed by malnutrition, which ranks fourth. Air pollution also ranks second after malnutrition among the risk factors leading to the death of children under the age of five.

According to scientists, air pollution was the cause of 30 percent of deaths from respiratory infections, 28 percent from coronary heart disease, and 48 percent from obstructive pulmonary disease.

Researchers confirm that air pollution weakens the immune system's ability to fight disease infections, which facilitates the entry of viruses that cause respiratory infections, including Covid-19, into the body.