The impact of particulate matter air pollution on premature cardiovascular diseases (CVD) death and disability is on the rise worldwide, a new study said on August 9.

The researchers of the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association analysed particulate matter (PM) pollution as a risk factor for death and disability using freely available data from 204 countries collected between 1990 and 2019 and detailed in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. 

Previous research established the association of PM pollution to CVD death and disability, however, questions remain about the worldwide impact of this type of pollution and how it has been changing over time, the study authors noted.

"We focused on examining the burden globally because particulate matter pollution is a widespread environmental risk factor that affects all populations worldwide, and understanding its impact on cardiovascular health can help guide public health interventions and policy decisions," said Farshad Farzadfar, MD, MPH, DSc, senior author of the study and a professor of medicine at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

The analysis found that the total number of premature deaths and years of cardiovascular disability from CVD attributable to PM air pollution rose from 2.6 million in 1990 to 3.5 million in 2019, a 31 per cent worldwide increase.

The increase in overall deaths was unevenly distributed, with a 43 per cent increase among men compared to a 28.2 per cent increase among women.

Between 1990 and 2019, there was a 36.7 per cent decrease in age-standardised premature deaths attributed to PM pollution, meaning that while fewer people had died from cardiovascular disease, people are living longer with a disability, according to the study.

Regions with higher socioeconomic conditions had the lowest number of lost years of life due to cardiovascular disease attributed to PM pollution, yet also the highest number of years lived with disability. 

Between 1990 and 2019, changes in the cardiovascular impact of PM pollution differed between men and women. 

In all measures, increases in disability and death from ambient PM air pollution were higher in men than women, while declines in disability and death from household PM air pollution were lower in women than men, the study mentioned.

The researchers also discovered that between 1990 and 2019, age-standardised CVD death and disability attributed to outdoor PM pollution increased by 8.1 per cent, while age-standardised CVD death and disability attributed to household PM pollution (produced by solid cooking fuels such as coal, charcoal, crop residue, dung, and wood) decreased by 65.4 per cent.