The role of burden of disease assessment in tracking progress towards achieving WHO global air quality guidelines

Dimitris Evangelopoulos (), Roman Perez-Velasco (), Heather Walton (), Sophie Gumy (), Martin Williams (), Frank J. Kelly () and Nino Künzli ()
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Dimitris Evangelopoulos: Imperial College
Roman Perez-Velasco: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Heather Walton: Imperial College
Sophie Gumy: World Health Organization
Martin Williams: Imperial College
Frank J. Kelly: Imperial College
Nino Künzli: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)

International Journal of Public Health, 2020, vol. 65, issue 8, No 30, 1455-1465

Abstract: Abstract Objectives More than 90% of the global population live in areas exceeding the PM2.5 air quality guidelines (AQGs). We provide an overview of the ambient PM2.5-related burden of disease (BoD) studies along with scenario analysis in the framework of the WHO AQG update on the estimated reduction in the BoD if AQGs were achieved globally. Methods We reviewed the literature for large-scale studies for the BoD attributed to ambient PM2.5. Moreover, we used the latest WHO statistics to calculate the BoD at current levels and the scenarios of aligning with interim targets and AQG levels. Results The most recent BoD studies (2010 onwards) share a similar methodology, but there are differences in the input data which affect the estimates for attributable deaths (2.9–8.9 million deaths annually). Moreover, we found that if AQGs were achieved, the estimated BoD would be reduced by up to 50% in total deaths worldwide. Conclusions Understanding the BoD across countries, especially in those that do not align with the AQGs, is essential in order to inform actions to reduce air pollution globally.

Keywords: Air pollution; PM2.5; Burden of disease; Air quality guidelines (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s00038-020-01479-z

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