Medical experts and public health authorities emphasize that air pollution plays a direct role in the mortality rates associated with various chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, while also contributing indirectly to a wide range of other communicable and non-communicable conditions.
In Bangladesh, where approximately 10 causes of premature deaths due to diseases identified, at least five of these causes linked to air pollution, leading to the loss of thousands of lives annually throughout the country.
Professor Mohammed Atiqur Rahman, Chairman of the Respiratory Medicine Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, underscores that air pollution’s direct impact is evident in respiratory ailments such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and bronchitis. Moreover, the presence of harmful air pollutants indirectly triggers gastric issues, kidney disorders, and heart ailments.
Highlighting the vulnerability of children and the elderly, Professor Rahman underscores that chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases particularly exacerbated by air pollution.
A recent global study, unveiled by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, starkly revealed Bangladesh to have the world’s most polluted air. This dire air quality significantly jeopardizes the well-being of citizens, causing a considerable reduction in their average life expectancy by an alarming 6.8 years.
Dr. MH Choudhury Lelin, a specialist in internal medicine, draws attention to the perilous interaction between heavy metals and blood, leading to the dissemination of carcinogenic elements. This harmful interaction ultimately gives rise to a range of health complications, including heart attacks.