Scientists identify link between air pollution and chronic illnesses

• A new study has found that air pollution is causing people in the UK to develop chronic illnesses, such as dementia and Parkinson’s, at an earlier age.
• Researchers analysed data from 396,000 Britons aged 39 to 70, linking high air pollution exposure to the earlier onset of 48 out of 78 long-term conditions.
• The study revealed that neurological and psychiatric disorders, including dystonia and myasthenia gravis, were accelerated by approximately two to five years.
• Hypertension, diabetes, and asthma were identified as the top three chronic conditions whose average age of onset was significantly hastened by air pollution.
• The Royal College of Physicians estimates that air pollution could contribute to 30,000 deaths in the UK by 2025 and incur annual costs exceeding £27 billion.

IN FULL

Why air pollution could speed up the onset of dementia and Parkinson’s