More than 30 percent of new asthma cases globally have been found to be linked to long-term fine particle exposure.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry said this highlighted the urgent need to address air pollution.
The research report said that about four percent of the world’s population suffered from asthma and more than 30 million new cases were diagnosed annually.
The condition causes wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath.
The research report said long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution had long been associated with asthma risk.
However, early studies were inconsistent and left the debate open.
The new study, led by Dr Ruijing Ni and published in the journal One Earth , involved researchers from China, the USA, and Australia, using data from 22 countries.
“We estimate that globally in 2019, almost a third of asthma cases are attributable to long-term PM2.5 exposure, corresponding to 63.5 million existing cases and 11.4 million new cases,” Dr Ni said.
“We also (found) that the risk of asthma associated with PM2.5 is much higher in children than in adults, reflecting the age-related vulnerability.”
Another member of the team, Professor Yafang Cheng, said the findings highlighted the urgent need for policymakers to enforce stringent air pollution controls.
“Personal protective measures, such as wearing masks, can also help reduce individual exposure and mitigate the risk of asthma,” she said.
The study was conducted by researchers from Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Germany), Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), University of Washington (USA), and Monash University (Australia).
The full report is on the Max Planck Institute website.
