MUMBAI: A joint study conducted by Yale and Peking Universities on long-term exposure to air pollution
on 32,000 Chinese has been published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Science (PNAS) journal. The Chinese study's findings could hold true for India, where roughly 25 lakh people died in 2015 due to causes arising out of air pollution. Sunil Dahiya, senior campaigner, Greenpeace
India, said the impact of air pollution in China is comparable to India. "The trajectory of development for both China and India are similar and hence are the levels and sources of pollution. So, even if the magnitude of impact might vary for the countries, there could be a similar impact on health," said Dahiya.
Dr Sundeep Salvi of the Pune-based Chest Research Foundation said he isn't surprised that air pollution affects cognitive skills. "An American study last year showed a correlation between the brain size of elderly women and the levels of pollution in their areas. More the pollution, higher and faster is the shrinkage of the brain," he added.
Mumbai-based pulmonologist Sanjay Mehta said cognitive damage due to air pollution has been suspected for long. "What is really worrying is air pollution's long-term damages such as cancer. Lungs of children exposed to pollution become shrunken and damaged, with these children suffering from diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder or asthma early on," he said.
Salvi added that the younger people aren't unaffected by air pollution levels. "Air pollution could be the reason for their aggression or hyperactive behaviour," he added.
The new Yale study seeks to highlight the indirect effect of pollution on social welfare.
"The damage air pollution has on ageing brains likely imposes substantial health and economic cost, considering that cognitive functioning is critical for the elderly to both running daily errands and making high-stakes economic decisions," said Zhang.
"India must apply the precautionary principle which means, however uncertain the risk is, we must work towards reducing the air pollution," added Dahiya of Greenpeace India.