Cleaner air can reduce heart disease, diabetes in women, reveals assessment, Pg12.

Key Highlights:

• A new assessment by IIT-Delhi and Climate Trends reveals that reducing pollution by 30% can significantly decrease heart disease, diabetes, anaemia, and low birth weight among women and children.
• The 'health benefit assessment dashboard' projects the co-benefits of reducing air pollution on disease prevalence across 641 districts, using data from NFHS-5, epidemiological studies, and air quality data.
• A 30% reduction in PM2.5 pollution could decrease heart disease prevalence among women by 3%-10%, with the most significant improvements in Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, and Nagaland.
• Overall reductions in diabetes prevalence are projected to range between 8% and 25%, with the highest benefits in Delhi, UP, Bihar, Assam, and Haryana.

Detailed Insights:

• The assessment assumes a uniform 30% reduction in PM2.5 pollution across districts to align with NCAP targets and achieve national ambient air quality standards by 2025-26.
• Cleaner air could lead to a decline in the prevalence of lower respiratory infections, low birth weight, and anaemia among children, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic plains and eastern states.
• Reducing air pollution could lead to a meaningful decline in hypertension in the range of 2% to 8%.
• The study underscores the urgent need to prioritize air quality interventions for measurable and widespread public health gains.

Key Concepts Involved:

• PM2.5: Fine inhalable particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, posing health risks.
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): A national level strategy launched in 2019 to reduce air pollution in cities.
• National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5): A large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in India on health and family welfare.