Environmental Media and Associated Respiratory Defects

Abstract

Environmental media majorly connotes abiotic components of the natural environment, namely, air, water and soil. Pollution to these media has resulted to a great deal of respiratory defects. Epidemiologic studies conducted in the U.S. and abroad provide evidence of associations between short and long-term exposure to fine particles in the air and both decrements in lung function growth in children and increased respiratory symptoms. Particles deposited in the respiratory tract in sufficient amounts induce lung inflammation, which has been demonstrated in both animal and controlled human exposure studies. More recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also conducted an evaluation on the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution in the respiratory tract, including particle pollution, and concluded that both are Group I agents (carcinogenic to humans). Air pollution has been given great priority as a causal factor for respiratory defects; meanwhile dust particles from contaminated soil could also cause a great havoc. Moreover polluted water is also a major causal pathway. According to world health organization (WHO) 80% diseases are waterborne. Though water is an important natural resource used for drinking and other developmental purposes in our lives but health risk associated with polluted water includes different diseases in which respiratory diseases are the major ones. Bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases are spreading through polluted water and affecting human health. Poliomyelitis virus is responsible for poliomyelitis, sore throat, fever, nausea, which are all due to polluted water.