THE IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION ON OUR HEALTH
Asatullayev Rustamjon Bakhtiyarovich
Scientific supervisor:
Ochilov Botir
Keywords: air pollution, particulate matter, PM2.5, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, children's health, WHO air quality guidelines, prevention
Abstract
Air pollution is a mixture of gases and particles that enters the body mainly through the respiratory tract but affects many organ systems. This narrative review summarizes the sources and main pollutants of ambient air, the mechanisms by which they damage tissue, and the health outcomes most consistently linked to exposure. Fifteen sources were selected, including World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the State of Global Air 2025 report, The Lancet Commission on pollution and health, cohort studies, clinical reviews, and a World Bank assessment of air quality in Tashkent. Current estimates attribute about 7.9 million deaths in 2023 to air pollution, most of them from noncommunicable diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer. Evidence also links exposure to impaired lung growth in children and to asthma, and emerging evidence links it to dementia.
References
1. World Health Organization. WHO global air quality guidelines: particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. – Geneva: WHO, 2021. – ISBN 978-92-4-003422-8. –
URL: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228 (accessed 22 October 2026).
2. Health Effects Institute. State of Global Air 2025: A report on air pollution and its role in the world's leading causes of death. – Boston, MA: Health Effects Institute, 2025. – URL: https://www.stateofglobalair.org (accessed 22 October 2026).
3. Landrigan P. J., Fuller R., Acosta N. J. R., et al. The Lancet Commission on pollution and health // The Lancet.
– 2018. – Vol. 391, No. 10119. – P. 462–512. – DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32345-0.
4. Fuller R., Landrigan P. J., Balakrishnan K., et al. Pollution and health: a progress update // The Lancet Planetary Health. – 2022. – Vol. 6, No. 6. – P. e535–e547. – DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00090-0.
5. Dockery D. W., Pope C. A. III, Xu X., et al. An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities // The New England Journal of Medicine. – 1993. – Vol. 329, No. 24. – P. 1753–1759. – DOI:
10.1056/NEJM199312093292401.
6. Pope C. A. III, Dockery D. W. Health effects of fine particulate air pollution: lines that connect // Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. – 2006. – Vol. 56, No. 6. – P. 709–742. – DOI:
10.1080/10473289.2006.10464485.
7. Brook R. D., Rajagopalan S., Pope C. A. III, et al. Particulate matter air pollution and cardiovascular disease: an update to the scientific statement from the American Heart Association // Circulation. – 2010. – Vol. 121, No.
21. – P. 2331–2378. – DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e3181dbece1.
8. Rajagopalan S., Al-Kindi S. G., Brook R. D. Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: JACC state-of-the-art review // Journal of the American College of Cardiology. – 2018. – Vol. 72, No. 17. – P. 2054–2070. – DOI:
10.1016/j.jacc.2018.07.099.
9. Schraufnagel D. E., Balmes J. R., Cowl C. T., et al. Air pollution and noncommunicable diseases: a review by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies' Environmental Committee, Part 1: the damaging effects of air pollution // Chest. – 2019. – Vol. 155, No. 2. – P. 409–416. – DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.10.042.
10. Guarnieri M., Balmes J. R. Outdoor air pollution and asthma // The Lancet. – 2014. – Vol. 383, No. 9928. – P.
1581–1592. – DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60617-6.


