Ko Ui Won, Kyung Sun Young
Department of Allergy, Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
Tuberc Respir Dis (Seoul). 2022 Oct;85(4):313-319. doi: 10.4046/trd.2022.0116. Epub 2022 Sep 13.
Environmental exposure to air pollution is known to have adverse effects on various organs. Air pollution has greater effects on the pulmonary system as the lungs are directly exposed to contaminants in the air. Here, we review the associations of air pollution with the development, morbidity, and mortality of pulmonary diseases. Short- and long-term exposure to air pollution have been shown to increase mortality risk even at concentrations below the current national guidelines. Ambient air pollution has been shown to be associated with lung cancer. Particularly long-term exposure to particulate matter with a diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) has been reported to be associated with lung cancer even at low concentrations. In addition, exposure to air pollution has been shown to increase the incidence risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been correlated with exacerbation and mortality of COPD. Air pollution has also been linked to exacerbation, mortality, and development of asthma. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been demonstrated to be related to increased mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Additionally, air pollution increases the incidence of infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis. Furthermore, emerging evidence supports a link between air pollution and coronavirus disease 2019 transmission, susceptibility, severity and mortality. In conclusion, the stringency of air quality guidelines should be increased and further therapeutic trials are required in patients at high risk of adverse health effects of air pollution.
已知环境暴露于空气污染会对各种器官产生不利影响。由于肺部直接暴露于空气中的污染物，空气污染对肺部系统的影响更大。在此，我们综述空气污染与肺部疾病的发生、发病率和死亡率之间的关联。短期和长期暴露于空气污染已被证明即使在低于当前国家指南的浓度下也会增加死亡风险。已表明环境空气污染与肺癌有关。特别是长期暴露于直径<2.5μm的颗粒物（PM2.5），即使在低浓度下也据报道与肺癌有关。此外，暴露于空气污染已被证明会增加慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）的发病风险，并与COPD的加重和死亡率相关。空气污染还与哮喘的加重、死亡率和发病有关。已证明暴露于二氧化氮（NO2）与特发性肺纤维化患者的死亡率增加有关。此外，空气污染会增加传染病的发病率，如肺炎、支气管炎和结核病。此外，新出现的证据支持空气污染与2019冠状病毒病传播、易感性、严重程度和死亡率之间的联系。总之，应提高空气质量指南的严格性，并且需要对空气污染对健康产生不利影响的高风险患者进行进一步的治疗试验。
