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The United Nations General Assembly, in 2019, designated the 7th of September as the ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’. The first celebration of this day was in 2020 when many events took place all over the world in order to promote international cooperation for cleaner air and encourage people to adopt some different actions so the air we breathe becomes cleaner.
The aim of this day is to alert and strengthen the global need for change and sensibilization for the improvement of air quality, as well as to promote some political actions against pollution and climate change.
Air pollution is a global problem that affects health, ecosystems, and climate change.
Air pollution currently represents the greatest environmental health risk.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are seven million deaths a year due to respiratory problems such as asthma, COPD, and lung cancer caused by pollutants. WHO estimates that around 90% of people worldwide breathe polluted air.
Source: Health Effects Institute. 2020. State of Global Air 2020. Special Report. Boston, MA: Health Effects Institute
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common, preventable, and treatable chronic lung disease that affects men and women worldwide.
This disease is characterized by airflow limitation caused by an inflammatory response to inhaled toxins such as air pollution and cigarette smoke.
This chronic pulmonary pathology involves chronic obstructive bronchitis and/or pulmonary emphysema
Chronic obstructive bronchitis is characterized by airway obstruction and degenerative changes in the bronchi, such as the loss of cilia and changes in their normal cleaning action.
On the other hand, emphysema is characterized by a decrease in the surface area available for gas exchange, as the alveoli are distended, and their walls are damaged.
COPD Causes
COPD is caused by 2 main factors:
Smoking (pollutants)
Genetic factors,
which together are the biggest cause of death from this disease.
Genetic factors
More than 30 alleles are associated with COPD. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (congenital absence of a pulmonary antiprotease) is the most relevant and best defined. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency leads to increased tissue destruction protease-mediated and emphysema in adults.
COPD Diagnosis
To diagnose COPD, it is necessary to distinguish it from:
Disorders that have similar characteristics (eg, bronchial asthma, heart failure)
Mainly by routine clinical information such as symptoms (mainly time-period)
Age of onset
Factors of risk
Results of routine tests (eg, thorax X-rays, pulmonary function tests)
Prevention
Accordingly to the world health organization the prevention and management of COPD undergoes a reduction in tobacco smoke exposure and also in promoting clean and safe behaviors, for example, the use of clean household energy at a national level.
Furthermore, vaccinations (influenza, covid-19, pneumonia ) and pharmacologic therapy are recommended.
References
https://greensavers.sapo.pt/dia-internacional-do-ar-limpo-para-um-ceu-azul/
Health Effects Institute, & Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation´s Global Burden of Disease project. (2020). State of Global Air 2020 (p. 28). https://www.stateofglobalair.org/resources
Standring, S., MBE, PhD, DSc, FKC, FAS, H., & FRCS, H. (Eds.). (2016). Gray´s Anatomy The Anatomical Basis of Clinical practice (fourty-first). Elsevier.
Xie, M., Liu, X., Cao, X., Guo, M., & Li, X. (2020). Trends in prevalence and incidence of chronic respiratory diseases from 1990 to 2017. Respiratory Research, 21(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-020-1291-8
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