The adverse pathophysiological effects of outdoor air pollution on the body tissues

• Main Authors: Simona Perčič, Peter Otorepec, Andreja Kukec
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Slovenian Medical Association 2018-04-01
• Series: Zdravniški Vestnik
• Subjects: onesnaženost zunanjega zraka; bolezni dihal; bolezni obtočil; nevrološka obolenja; sladkorna bolezen; sistematična analiza
• Online Access: http://vestnik.szd.si/index.php/ZdravVest/article/view/2477

Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution is a serious and common public health concern associated with growing morbidity and mortality worldwide. There are many published studies about the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in response of the body tissues to outdoor air pollution exposure. The aim of our review was to investigate the problem of outdoor air pollution and health effects of pathological mechanisms, with specific goal to point out public health intervention strategies based upon a clearer understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms of outdoor air pollution. A systematic literature review was carried out in two bibliographic databases, Science Direct and PubMed, in the period from January 1995 to December 2015. We conducted a systematic analysis of 95 studies, 43 of them being review studies and 52 original studies. The systematic analysis was done in three steps, for each body tissue separately (respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurologic diseases and diabetes mellitus). This insight into literature review may help foster more effective preventive measures at the public health level as well as potential intervention strategies based upon a clearer understanding of the involved pathways.