Meeting WHO air quality guidelines could avert 9.4 million deaths a year in LMICs, study suggests
A modelling study of 136 low- and middle-income countries estimates large health and economic gains if air pollution met WHO guideline levels, according to a post by Dr Alexey Kulikov.
“average annual PM2.5 is about 30 µg/m³, six times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³”— Dr Alexey Kulikov
Meeting the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines could prevent or postpone around 9.4 million deaths a year in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a new study described by Dr Alexey Kulikov on X. The post did not name the journal in which the study appears.
Kulikov wrote that the researchers modelled air pollution, population and health data for 136 LMICs. In these countries, average annual PM2.5 is about 30 µg/m³, six times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. Bringing PM2.5 down to the guideline could mean 7.3 million fewer new cases of coronary heart disease each year, along with 2.8 million fewer cases of COPD, 2.3 million fewer of stroke and 1.1 million fewer of dementia. Meeting the NO2 guideline on its own could prevent about 1.1 million deaths.
The post said interim targets would also make a difference: reaching them for PM2.5 would mean about 6.6 million fewer deaths a year.
Kulikov also pointed to an economic case, citing billions of dollars saved in medical costs and productivity. This includes $18.1 billion in productivity from fewer COPD cases.
Original source
“average annual PM2.5 is about 30 µg/m³, six times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³”
— Dr Alexey Kulikov View the post on X
