Global Health Asia-Pacific July 2020 July 2020 | Page 70

Environment
Continued from page 66
Globally, air
pollution is
estimated to
be responsible
for nearly
40 percent
of lower
respiratory
tract
infections
and chronic
obstructive
pulmonary
disease
burden and
about 20
percent of
coronary
heart disease
and diabetes
burden
assessed that 8,911 air-quality-related deaths were
avoided during the quarantine period.
“Our estimates suggest that interventions to
contain the covid-19 outbreak led to improvements in
air quality that brought health benefits in non-covid-19
deaths, which could potentially have outnumbered the
confirmed deaths attributable to covid-19 in China,�
the researchers wrote.
�Our findings show the substantial human health
benefits related to cardiovascular disease morbidity
and mortality that can be achieved when aggressive
control measures for air pollution are taken to reduce
emissions from vehicles, such as through climate
mitigation-related traffic restrictions or efforts to
accelerate the transition to electric vehicles,� the study
also noted.
Globally, air pollution is estimated to be responsible
for nearly 40 percent of lower respiratory tract
infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
burden and about 20 percent of coronary heart
disease and diabetes burden. New research has found
that air pollution shortens people’s lives by nearly
three years on average, which puts it ahead of wars,
malaria, HIV�AID�, and smoking as the leading cause
of shortened life spans.
But it would be a mistake to think that these
temporary benefits represent an improvement in
long-term prospects, warns Dr �arah Vogel, vicepresident
of the Environmental Defense �und’s health
programme in New York.
Home confinement has taken a toll on children
“While air quality may have temporarily improved
across the world, these health conditions are the
result of long-term exposure, and don’t go away,�
she said. “That is to say that a few months of clear
air that is much shorn of particulate matter does not
make heart disease, diabetes, and chronic pulmonary
conditions disappear. Indeed, people who have
these conditions still face them in combination with,
potentially, covid-19.�
The impact of this dangerous combination will not
only hit individuals but could be an additional burden
on already overloaded healthcare systems.
While the improvements in air quality will likely
be temporary, the findings give scientists a unique
glimpse into what air quality could be like in the future
if emissions regulations become more stringent,
according to the researchers.
Dr �enny �tavrakou, an atmospheric scientist
at the Royal �elgian Institute for �pace Aeronomy
in �russels, says that such a significant drop
in emissions as we’re now experiencing is
unprecedented. The only other comparable event that
resulted in short-term reductions in emissions took
place during the 2008 Beijing Olympics when strict
environmental regulations were implemented.
“Maybe this unintended experiment could be
used to understand better emission regulations,� Dr
�tavrakou said. �It’s some positive news among a very
tragic situation.�
How long the current pause in emissions will last,
however, will depend on a number of factors, such as
government policies going forward, the behaviour of
private industry, and the rate of economic recovery.
And while cardiovascular and pulmonary health have
clearly benefited from the slowdown in economic
activity, other aspects of human life have suffered,
particularly mental health.
In one study of the mental health of primary school
children in Hubei province, researchers looked at
1,784 6-12-year-olds who took a well-used test of
depression. They found that 22.6 percent reported
symptoms of depression, which is 30 percent higher
than historical norms (17.2 percent). Anxiety levels
were also higher.
“Many of the factors associated with home
confinement amidst the covid-19 pandemic � from
fear of infection to social isolation and risk of child
maltreatment � are known risk factors for poor mental
health in children. This research letter is among the
first pieces of evidence to help us quantify the toll of
home confinement on child mental health,� said Dr
Andrea Danese, professor of child and adolescent
psychiatry at King’s College London, in a statement.
�The research suggests that home confinement
may be linked to increase in anxiety and depressive
symptoms among primary school children [but] it
is unclear if these emotional symptoms should be
interpreted as short-term, normal psychological
responses to the restrictions imposed by home
confinement, or early signs of longer-term psychiatric
68 JULY 2020 GlobalHealthAndTravel.com