It’s time for physicians to begin screening their patients for the 健康 risks they face because of exposure to 空气污染, 生物学教授Philip J. 兰德里根，医学博士，大学的主任 Program for 全球 Public 健康 and the Common Good.
With numerous studies documenting 空气污染’s link to heart-related illness and death, Landrigan and another preiminent American physician are calling on their peers to begin assessing and recommending steps to help patients reduce their exposure to indoor and outdoor 空气污染 in order to improve cardiovascular 健康, 电子游戏正规平台人员 最近写道 在著名的 新英格兰医学杂志.
“What has been missing from this whole conversation about cardiovascular disease is the impact of environmental factors outside of an individual’s control,兰德里根说, a pediatrician and epidemiologist whose pioneering work led to the removal of lead from 气体oline. “It is time to bring these issues into the conversation.”
生物学教授菲尔·兰德里根
除了, 政府负有主要责任, 作为公共卫生的管理者, to adopt technologies and regulations that reduce 空气污染—measures that will also contribute to efforts to combat climate change, Landrigan和Sanjay Rajagopalan写道, MD, chief of cardiovascular medicine at UH Harrington Heart & 血管电子游戏正规平台所，Herman K. Hellerstein, MD, 心血管电子游戏正规平台主席, and director of the Case Cardiovascular 电子游戏正规平台 Institute at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
Cardiovascular diseases are the world’s leading cause of death and disability, responsible for 18.600万年 deaths worldwide in 2019, including 957,000人死亡. 同年，估计有5人死亡.500万年 cardiovascular deaths were linked to 空气污染—including 200,000人死亡, though the authors note that number could be up to ten times higher, 基于一些电子游戏正规平台.
The grim statistics illustrate that it is now necessary for physicians, who have long addressed heart 健康 from standpoints of nutrition, 饮食, 吸烟, 和锻炼, to play a greater role helping patients recognize their risk factors for exposure to pollutants and recommending evidence-based strategies in response, 合著者认为.
“The first step in preventing pollution-related cardiovascular disease is to overcome neglect of pollution in disease prevention programs, 医学教育, and clinical practice and acknowledge that pollution is a major, potentially preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease,兰德里根和拉贾戈帕兰在杂志中写道.
除了 to obtaining patient histories of pollution exposure, doctors can provide guidance on pollution avoidance. They might recommend minimizing exercise on “bad air” days, 避免在工作中暴露, avoiding the use of pollution-emitting devices—from fireplaces to incense sticks. Preventative recommendations could include the use of facemasks, 家用空气净化器, 还有空调.
“The scientific knowledge is not brand new,兰德里根说, who also directs 电子游戏软件’s 全球污染与健康观察站. “It has been recognized for at least a decade that 空气污染 and lead are important causes for heart disease and stroke. 然而, that scientific knowledge hasn’t yet translated to clinical practice in the office, 或者在医院的床边. 我们认为是时候做出改变了. We are hoping this will change the practice of individual doctors and NPs, and that it will change the advice that prominent professional organizations give to their members and the public.”
污染的致命代价
18.600万年
2019年全球死亡人数
5.500万年
全世界的死亡与空气污染有关
除了 to the call to action for their fellow physicians, Landrigan and Rajagopalan want to bring the issue of pollution to the attention of the world’s leading medical, 健康, and physician associations to enlist their members in the effort to control pollution. The American Heart Association has already issued guidance on steps individuals can take to protect themselves from 空气污染, 他们指出.
But the global scale of the problem is so great that physicians and 健康 care providers cannot be expected to resolve it on their own, 医生说. 政府, currently grappling with the global response to climate change at the COP26 meetings in Glasgow, 苏格兰, can use those same efforts to improve cardiovascular 健康.
“An enduring reduction in pollution-related cardiovascular disease will require more than changing individual behaviors,他们在日记中写道. “It will necessitate widescale control of pollution at its sources. The most effective strategy for achieving this goal is a rapid, government-supported transition from all fossil fuels—coal, 气体, 油要清洗, 可再生能源. Household 空气污染 in low-income countries is most effectively controlled by providing poor families with affordable access to cleaner fuels.”
政府将采取行动来引领这条道路, they argue: “Lasting prevention of pollution-related cardiovascular disease can be achieved only through government-supported interventions on a societal scale that control pollution at its source and encourage a rapid transition to clean energy.”
Ed Hayward | University Communications | November 2021